A Year With Quil and Claire
by genies9
Summary: A series of drabbles set over the course of a year in Quil and Claire's life. A sequel of sorts to The Experiment, though it's not required reading. Set nine months after that story ends.
1. January

A/N: Got this idea from the livejournal community "365 prompts." Basically, you use a different prompt for each day of the year. Since 365 chapters would be rather long (I can just imagine what my Documents page would look like, can't you?) I thought I'd do it by month. Twelve chapters is much simpler. ;-)

It's become something of a sequel to my story _The Experiment._ It wasn't going to be when I started out, but became that way pretty quickly. Hmm. I'm not sure if you really _need _to read _The Experiment_ to get this, but it would probably help.

Side note: the name beside the date denotes whose point of view it's in. It might alternate, depending on who I think would work better.

Disclaimer: I don't Twilight, characters, etc. I don't even own the prompts. PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!

**January**

January 1- Claire  
Prompt: 060. Hot

"Are you sure you have to go?" I asked Quil, following him to the door. It was two in the morning. A new year. It was a big one for us—it was the first New Year's we'd spent together as a _couple_—how weird—and wonderful—was _that?_ We'd only made it official two months before. And it was the first New Year's since I'd found out his secret.

And now he was _leaving._

Quil laughed. "I told you, Sam wants us to run patrols tonight." He winked at me. "You're lucky Emily threw a fit about it, or I wouldn't have been able to be here at all."

I couldn't help smiling at that. The image of my Aunt Emily, calm, levelheaded Aunt Emily, throwing a fit was just too comical. Then I was scowling at him again. "But it's so _cold_ outside." I peered out the window at the snow coming down.

Suddenly, a hot band encircled my waist, and in a flash I was pressed up against his chest. It was like hopping into an oven.

"Hmm," he acknowledged, pressing his face into my hair. "That might be a problem if I wasn't so hot."

I punched him in the side playfully as he let me go—lightly, of course. _Really_ hitting him would hurt me more than him. "Fine. Go then. I'll just sit here. Alone. With no one." I sighed dramatically.

Quil rolled his eyes. "Bye, Claire." He leaned down to kiss me quickly. "Love you."

I grinned. "Love you, too."

* * *

January 2- Quil  
Prompt: 198. Delicate

She was delicate. Horribly delicate. Frighteningly delicate.

I watched her move around the kitchen. When I'd come home that afternoon, she had shoved a mixing bowl and a spoon into my hands and informed me that we were going to make brownies.

There were dark circles under her pretty eyes, telling me things that she didn't want to.

She looked so fragile at times like this—like the smallest thing would break her into a million pieces. I knew better than to ask. I had at the beginning—after everything with Matt, I didn't want to have the risk of _not_ knowing about something again—but talking about it didn't seem to help at all. If anything, it seemed to make things worse.

So I did what I was supposed to as her friend. I helped bake brownies when she needed to keep herself busy.

I helped eat them, too.

* * *

January 3- Claire  
Prompt: 156. Mail

I kicked the front door closed behind me. "Bills. Junk. Junk. Bills. Letter from Audrey. You might already be a winner! Coupon… Oh."

I stared at the envelope in my hand. I weighed it, bouncing my hand up and down, trying to decide if it was really what I thought it was, or if they just felt like toying with me.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, I tore open the envelope. "Dear Claire," I read aloud—Quil wasn't home to hear me anyway—"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted…" At this point I stopped reading and just started screaming and jumping around the kitchen.

Which is how Embry found me a few minutes later.

"You know I can hear you all the way outside? What is with you?"

I practically through the letter at him.

He caught it easily and scanned the letter. "You got into University of Washington?" At my nod, Embry started yelling and jumping around the kitchen along with me.

Inevitably, that was how Quil eventually found us. Though, when he saw my acceptance letter, he just locked me in a hug, and muttered into my hair about how proud of me he was. I think he wanted to say—and do—more, but it wouldn't really have worked with Embry there.

It wasn't until later that it occurred to me just how far away Seattle was.

* * *

A/N: It feels like it's been forever since I got my acceptance letters to university… A whole two years. ;-) I'm such an old fogie, I know.

* * *

January 4- Claire  
Prompt: 206. Police

As though I weren't already late enough.

Quil and I had a date. He was taking me out to dinner in Port Angeles to celebrate my acceptance. Well, that's what it was now, anyway. We'd decided to go to dinner earlier in the week, as a last treat before school started again.

But I was running late. That's what I got for stopping at the store. Apparently I hadn't learned my lesson. Though, at least this time the worst that had happened was I'd gotten stuck waiting for a freight train to pass. Of course, because it's _never_ the small commuter trains when you need to get home quick.

And now this.

I rolled down my window—easier said than done, thanks to how cold it was—and pasted on what I hoped was my most charming smile. "Chief Swan," I greeted.

"Claire." He was trying his best to look and sound disapproving, but you could tell he was more amused than anything. God, I was lucky he liked me. "Do you have any idea how fast you were going?"

"Forty-five?" I guessed innocently, knowing full well that was what the speed limit on this road was, and also knowing exactly what speed I'd really been going.

"Try sixty-five." Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really am going to have to give you a ticket this time."

I gave him my most pitiful look. "Are you sure you can't just let me off with a warning, just this once? I'll be more careful about my speed." I held up three fingers. "Girl scout's honor." I was only a girl scout for less than a year because my mother had insisted on it. Besides, I'd managed to con Quil into doing most of the cookie selling for me. Not that it would have been that hard with so many ever-hungry werewolves running around—half of whom I was related to, anyway, and therefore under some unspoken obligation to buy stuff from me. Anyway, those… five months… had to count for _something._

He eyed me dubiously. "Claire, I've let you off with a warning the last three times."

Oh, yeah.

By the time he'd written me my ticket, asked me to say hello to Jake when I saw him, and finally drove off, I was half an hour late. To make matters worse, I'd left my cell phone at home, so I couldn't even call Quil so that he wouldn't worry.

I groaned. It was a good thing he loved me so much. Anyone else would've killed me.

* * *

January 5- Claire  
Prompt: 129. Bus

I couldn't remember the last time I rode the bus. Usually I borrowed Quil's truck, or else he gave me a ride. But after yesterday's debacle, there was no way I was going to get to use it. And that morning Jacob had enlisted Quil's help—well, mostly Quil's truck—to move some old furniture of Billy's.

And so, I was stuck, standing at the bus stop, feeling like a five year old again.

It was my own fault, too, for transferring to Forks High. Who transfers their senior year, anyway? But after last year—I shuddered just thinking about it—the last thing I wanted to do was go back to the school in La Push. Too many memories.

I had enough of those to deal with in my nightmares, anyway.

To top it all off, it was still freezing cold outside. So I got to stand there on the corner, buried under my heaviest jacket and scarf and gloves and hat, and _still_ freeze my butt off. Great. And my only company was Caitlin, a shy freshman who never talked to anyone anyway.

I glanced at my watch. Of course, the stupid thing's late anyway. Just my luck.

I don't know how long we were out there for. It felt like an eternity, with the icy wind blowing in my face.

After some heinous amount of time—I was almost afraid to check—a car stopped in front of us and one of the guys in it rolled down his window. "What are you still doing out here? Didn't you hear? School's been cancelled."

Of course.

* * *

January 6- Quil  
Prompt: 160. Hips

It was always nearly impossible for me _not_ to look at her. Really, it was almost disgusting how much I needed to.

It wasn't so bad when she was looking back at me. At least then it was a mutual thing. But half the time she didn't even notice. She'd be doing something completely mundane and boring, and yet I wouldn't be able to stop watching her.

Like now. She was just picking up her room. That's it. Nothing too special. Except that, at the same time, she was humming to herself, and swaying along to whatever tune was in her head. And, God help me, I couldn't take my eyes off of her gently swaying hips.

Claire turned mid-hum and finally noticed me standing in the doorway. "Quil? You okay?"

I could just imagine what my face must have looked like right then. "Fine," I managed. I had to get out of there. A few more seconds of this and I'd have her flat on her back. "I think I need to go for a run."

She just blinked at me. "Okay…"

I was out the door about twenty seconds later.

* * *

January 7- Claire  
Prompt: 016. Vacation

Thursdays. Thursdays were the bane of my existence.

I loved Billy. I really did. He was like a grandfather to me. Which is why, when Jacob asked me a few months earlier if I could help Billy out—you know, run errands for him, do stuff for him that he couldn't really, being in a wheelchair—I said sure. Why not? Jake couldn't do as much of it anymore, since he'd moved out on his own. And I could understand why he had moved out—they both wanted the independence.

That was all fine and good, in theory. In theory, it worked out great. That, and Billy insisted on paying me a little, which was an added bonus.

Every Thursday afternoon when I got home from school, I'd borrow Quil's truck—the ban on that had to be lifted for some things—and head over to the Black's. Billy would tell me things he needed me to do for him, and I'd do them. Simple, easy.

And best of all, the reason I'd really started doing this, it kept my mind off of other things. I needed that less and less as time went on, but there were still days when it was lovely.

It would all be perfect. If it didn't actually involve Billy.

"You're doing it wrong," he informed me.

I huffed out an exasperated sigh. I'd thought I was in the clear when I'd come over and Billy had merely handed me a grocery list. He hadn't even insisted on coming along this time.

But no. An easy Thursday was too much to hope for. After putting away the groceries, Billy had innocently asked me if I could please help him remove the screens on his windows. They needed to be replaced for some reason. Don't ask me why, I've given up on asking about that sort of thing. Much easier just to comply.

I sighed, turning to face him. "Wouldn't it be easier just to have Jake do this?"

Billy shrugged. "This way it won't take so long to put the new screens in."

I was grateful, at least, that Jacob had that job. The house didn't have _that_ many windows, it shouldn't have taken too much time to take out the screens.

Except, apparently, that I didn't know the "correct" way to take them out. I'd only managed to get one out, and only with a great amount of difficulty. Not that Billy was helping.

Finally, after a lot of huffing and a few more unhelpful instructions from Billy a pair of too warm hands gently pried my own from the window. I turned around to see Jacob shaking with laughter. I glared at him.

"I thought I should probably come rescue you," he said, eyeing the window I'd been attacking. Then, in a voice too low for Billy to hear. "Go easy on him. He's bored."

"I know." It was the reason I put up with it. "You owe me a vacation," I grumbled to him.

Jacob laughed. "Yeah, I know." He turned and pushed me toward the door. "You're relieved of your duties." He winked at me. "For your troubles, you get a whole week off, how about that?"

"Ha ha. Very funny."

* * *

January 8- Claire  
Prompt: 217. Test

"How was it?" Quil asked me as I climbed into his truck after school.

I groaned, slamming the door closed behind me. "I failed. That's all there is to it. Who has a test the week we get back from break, anyway? Like anyone would be studying."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"You're right. It was worse. We should call the Admissions office and let them know. There's no way they'll even let me graduate after this. I can't go to college. I won't even be able finish _high school._"

Quil rolled his eyes. "Claire. One test isn't going to kill you."

I snorted. "Sure." I shook my head. "Maybe it's for the best, anyway. Four hours is an awfully long way to go from home." I was looking out the window as I said this, so I didn't see Quil's expression.

He didn't have a response to that.

* * *

January 9- Quil  
Prompt: 121. Death

It was a familiar nightmare. I'd had it for years. Once when she was six, we'd been hunting this especially vicious and elusive bloodsucker. I'd have nightmares about coming back from patrolling, only to find her still little body, murdered in her own bed.

By now, I was used to those. They still scared the hell out of me, but at least those I could handle. It was just my imagination going crazy on me. Nothing even close to that had ever happened.

Worse were the dreams of last spring. I'd enter the shed like I had before, only this time when I found her, it was too late.

But even worse than those were the dreams where, when I entered the shed, she'd still be hanging on to life, but just barely. She would look at me with those big brown eyes, wary and accusing—this part I knew was of my own mind's making, with no part in reality—as though it were _my_ fault.

Then, after I had ripped away the ropes binding her and removed the rag around her mouth, I would pick her up—gently, oh so gently—and start to leave the shed, past my brothers' worried and pitying faces.

And then… so suddenly it would completely take me by surprise, Claire would suddenly go limp in my arms, head falling back over the crook in my arm, her eyes still open, now gazing unseeingly at nothing, her beautiful little body still with death.

They didn't come often. I was grateful for that much, at least.

For whatever reason, though, they came that night. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. 3:13am. It was officially a new day. Didn't feel much like it, though.

I rolled out of bed, glad for once that, since Claire had moved in, I'd taken to wearing an undershirt and boxers to bed.

I cracked open Claire's door and peeked inside. She was curled up on her side, facing toward me. Her face was peaceful, her lips parted slightly. I relaxed a little at the sight of her, quite obviously alive and unharmed.

I slipped soundlessly into the room, closing the door gently behind me. I shouldn't, I knew that. It wasn't right. Soul mate or no, I was just her boyfriend. I hadn't asked for that sort of right yet, and she hadn't offered it to me. On most nights, this would be forbidden territory.

We made allowances.

Claire stirred when she felt my weight on the bed. "Quil?" she murmured sleepily, not opening her eyes.

"Hmm," I said softly, curling up next to her, draping my arm over those lovely hips of hers.

She shifted closer to me. "Another one?"

"Yes." I ran a hand over her dark hair. "Go back to sleep. Everything's fine."

Now it was.

* * *

A/N: Anyone else letting their imaginations run wild with the thought of what Quil wore to bed _before_ Claire moved in? 'Cause I know I am…

* * *

January 10- Claire  
Prompt: 075. Key

"You're sure about this?"

"Positive."

Quil eyed me skeptically. "Maybe it's too soon," he offered.

"For who?" I shot back. I saw him wince. "Sorry. That was low."

"Yeah, it was." He gave me a too-short kiss—they were always too short. "But I forgive you." He shot me a cheeky grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Just put it back and let's go."

It had been ten months since I'd moved it. A very long ten months. But it was finally time to conquer old demons and put it back where it belonged.

Besides, it'd finally get Embry off my back.

"All right." Quil held the extra key aloft, looking very serious, and finally lowered it, very slowly, into the pot next to the door, where it would—hopefully—spend the rest of its days.

I shook my head at him. "You're too much."

Quil grinned at me. "You're not the only one who can be dramatic, you know."

* * *

January 11- Claire  
Prompt: 001. Sunshine

I scowled up at the sky from the front porch. "Why does perfectly good weather have to be ruined by a Monday morning?

Quil laughed at me. "Come on, the sun will still be there when you get out of school." He paused. "Probably."

I glowered at him as I climbed into his truck. "No wonder you're so cheerful this morning. _You_ get to enjoy it all day long."

He grinned, but didn't bother denying it. "On the bright side—no pun intended—you'll get to enjoy the sun all day long from the comforts of the classroom while you get a great education."

"Joy."

* * *

January 12- Claire  
Prompt: 045. Hug

"Claire, what I really don't need right now is your advice," Jacob informed me.

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't get so discouraged. So you had one bad date. Okay," I amended, "a lot of bad dates. It's really not that bad."

"I'm not getting discouraged," he argued.

"Right. Of course you're not. You _always_ polish your extra bike when you come home after a date. In fact, whenever I see you in here doing something _other_ than polishing your extra bike, I don't know how to handle it."

Jake shot me a look. "Claire."

"Maybe you're dating the wrong people," I offered. "Maybe you're looking in the wrong places." I considered for a moment. "Have you considered men?"

His response was more of strained choking sound than anything. "Trust me," he finally gasped. "That's not it."

I shrugged. "It was worth asking."

I was about to leave when I changed my mind. I sighed and went back to Jacob, pulling him into a hug. I think I shocked him for a moment, but in the end, he returned it.

"Thanks," he muttered.

I nodded. I was halfway out the door this time when I turned around to glance back at him. "Hey Jake?"

"What?"

"Why _do_ you have two motorcycles, anyway?"

Jacob looked down his extra bike, one of those far away smiles I so often see forming on his lips. "It was a friend's." He turned away. "She doesn't need it anymore."

* * *

January 13- Claire  
Prompt: 320. Telephone

Since I was supposed to be living with my aunt, whenever I called my parents, I always had to go up the street to the Uley's. It was annoying, but necessary. At least for the time being.

"Put Audrey on," I told my mother after we'd been talking for awhile. I sighed when I heard my sister's voice come over the line. "Go somewhere where they won't hear, okay?"

"Right." A few moments later, "God, I love this whole stealth thing. Such a pity it's not to going to last much longer."

I snorted. "Yeah, it's great for you, but it's driving me nuts. I'm just glad it'll be over in a few more months." Well, okay, I was glad for the end of the "stealth thing," not so much the end of living with Quil.

"How are things, anyway?"

"Good. Slow. I'm happy for that."

"Is it weird?" Audrey wanted to know. I heard a loud booming noise from her side. "Sorry. Just knocked box."

I shook my head. I could just imagine what Audrey's room looked like right then. She was home for a couple more days before heading back to school. Her bedroom had to look like even more of a disaster than normal. If that were possible.

"What'd you do? Bring your whole dorm room with you?"

"Oh shut up. You're room will look just as bad as mine next year, trust me." More noise. "Anyway. You didn't answer my question. Is it weird, transitioning from friends to… well, you know?"

I thought about it for a minute. Had anything really changed? I couldn't think of much, except now Quil did things like kiss me. And he touched me more—little things. Like holding my hand across the seat when we were in the truck, or touching the small of my back when we were standing close. And he told me he loved me. Not that I hadn't known that before, or that he'd never said it to me before. Just… it was different.

But everything else was the same. He was still my best friend. We still teased each other and made jokes. Come to think of it, we were more like friends now than we'd been for the two years before he'd told me he was a werewolf.

"No," I finally said to Audrey. "No, it's not weird at all."

* * *

January 14- Claire  
Prompt: 041. Computer

"Jeez, Billy, what have you been doing to this thing?" I asked, peering at the computer screen. "This thing's a mess."

It was another Thursday afternoon at Billy's. I'd gotten there about ten minutes earlier to find a worried looking Billy, who had promptly informed me that his computer—his brand new computer, mind you, that Jacob and I—well, mostly Jacob—had pitched in to buy him for Christmas—had just died on him.

Billy started listing off his recent activities on the poor machine, including the various things he'd done to try and fix it before I arrived.

I gaped at him. "Don't you know how to use this thing at all?" He shrugged. I sighed. "Never mind. We'll deal with that later. Right now let's just hope I can perform a mini miracle on this thing."

A couple hours and a few miracles later, I finally had the computer running… well, if not like new, at least like it was supposed to.

All the same, Billy's grateful smile made me feel about ten feet tall.

* * *

January 15- Quil  
Prompt: 226. Tattoo

"What do you think of a tattoo?" Claire wanted to know.

I nearly choked on my dinner. "On you? Absolutely not." I couldn't imagine marring her perfect skin with something so… so… well, not her.

Claire rolled her eyes at me. "Paul has one," she reminded me.

"Yes, well, on Paul it's an improvement." I grinned, despite myself.

She smiled mischievously. "Anyway, I thought you'd like this idea. I was thinking of getting your name tattooed someplace."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Any ideas where?"

"A couple."

* * *

A/N: …I hope that none of you thought of where/what she meant by "a couple." And if you did… -hands you some brain soap- Scrub thoroughly, ye heathens. ;-)

* * *

January 16- Quil  
Prompt: 270. Joy

"Claire," I called softly, shaking her gently.

"Mmph," she muttered, swatting at my hand. "Go away. It's too early."

I grinned. "Claire, come on, get up. You're not going to want to miss this."

She turned over and glared at me sleepily. "Quil, it's Saturday. Can't you let me sleep in for a little while?"

I pulled her up. "You're not going to want to sleep," I informed her. "Come on, the sun's out. It's warm—well, for January, I mean."

The look of joy that completely transformed her face was totally worth the effort of waking up early. Without question.

* * *

January 17- Claire  
Prompt: 137. Snow

I wrinkled my nose at the sight outside the window. "How can it be so sunny and nice outside yesterday, and snowing today?"

Emily laughed, setting down our mugs of hot chocolate on her kitchen table. "That's the weather for you," she said, shrugging. "There's rarely any rhyme or reason to it."

I sighed, taking the mug. "It was so nice yesterday."

"I know."

"I love it when it's like that in the middle of winter."

"I know."

"I _hate_ snow."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

* * *

January 18- Claire  
Prompt: 086. Ice

"Be careful."

"I will."

"The roads are still pretty bad."

"I know."

"And don't go so fast."

"_Quil."_

He just looked at me. I sighed. "Fine. I won't go too fast. Okay? Can I please go now?"

Quil bit his lip for a moment. "You're sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Quil. I'm just going to school."

Sometimes I'm surprised anyone let's me drive in winter at all.

* * *

January 19- Claire  
Prompt: 317. Cat

"What would happen if we got a cat?"

Quil raised an eyebrow. "You're allergic."

I shook my head. "I'm hypothetical, here, Quil, work with me, okay?" He shrugged. "Anyway," I continued. "If we got a cat, could you handle it?"

He let out a surprised laugh. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, you're basically a big dog—Oh, shut up, you know what I mean—if we had a cat, would you and it fight all the time? Would I have to choose between a beloved pet and my boyfriend?"

Quil wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and lowered his head so that it was level with my ear. "Now why would you even need a pet when you've got me?"

"You're really not getting the point, are you?" I rolled my eyes, but I was grinning.

Ah, well. I was always more of a dog person anyway.

* * *

January 20- Quil  
Prompt: 091. Coffee

I felt the mattress bounce slightly under me. I pried open an eyelid to see Claire kneeling on my bed, a steaming mug cupped in her hands.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," she said brightly, thrusting the mug under my nose.

I grimaced. It was too early. Even for Claire's coffee. I turned over. "Half an hour more," I grumbled.

"I don't think so. Come on. I've gotta get to school. You're lucky I even stopped to make you any today." I felt her hand at my shoulder, trying futilely to pull me up. As though she could be that strong. "Come on, get up! Coffee's getting cold!"

I groaned, finally sitting up and taking the mug from her. "You're lucky I love you," I muttered.

She grinned and leaned over to kiss me before hopping off the bed. "I know."

* * *

January 21- Quil  
Prompt: 182. Gravity

I spent half my life without her. It's hard to remember what that was like. Even when we barely spoke, she was always there.

I've gone so long with her at the center of my world. I can't remember anymore what it was like before it was like that. Isn't that weird? I spent the first sixteen years of my life without even knowing she existed—hell, she hadn't even _existed_ for the first fourteen years. It's almost as though _I_ didn't exist before that moment.

Jake used to call it "gravity shifting." But it's really so much more than just that.

* * *

January 22- Claire  
Prompt: 273. North

"Have you ever been to this place before?" I asked glancing out the window of Quil's truck. Jacob had told us about some obscure restaurant he'd been to recently on a failed date that apparently had good food.

"No," Quil responded, squinting to see beyond the glaring headlights of the oncoming traffic. "But Jacob said it was decent, so why not?"

"Should we really trust his opinion? I mean, considering how the date went."

"Jake's dating problems have nothing to do with the places he takes the girls he goes out with."

I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "So, do _you_ know why he has so much trouble?" Quil didn't respond, but he seemed to be concentrating awfully hard on the road. Well, more than a normal person would, anyway. "Do you?"

Quil sighed. "Yes." He shot me a look. "You want to know that, ask him."

"I have already. He won't say."

To my surprise, Quil chuckled. "I should've known. Of course you'd ask." He shook his head. "If he wants to tell you, he'll tell you. Not knowing something isn't the worse thing in the world."

I couldn't really argue with that. "Maybe not. But it's a close second."

Quil let out a bark of laughter at that one.

I went back to looking out the window. "Hey, aren't we supposed to be going south?"

"Yeah. Why?"

I pointed to a sign we were passing. "That says we're going north."

"What are you talking about? It's south."

"It's north."

"South."

"North."

Quil sighed. "Look, there's another one. It says…" suddenly he swore.

"Told you it said north."

* * *

January 23- Claire  
Prompt: 218. Breakfast

I sipped my coffee, watching the great battle going on in front of me.

It was like watching a train wreck. You knew it was going to be ugly. That there was no way of it turning out like you hoped—minimal damage, everyone's fine—and yet you can't make yourself look away.

It was clear the enemy was going to win. I knew it. He knew it. Hell, even the eggs probably knew it.

It was my fault, really. I'd have to live with that.

I sighed finally. "You can go back to bed."

Quil nearly fell out of his seat in his exhausted haste. "Oh, thank you."

I shook my head in defeat. That's what I got for complaining so much about never seeing him at breakfast.

* * *

January 24- Claire  
Prompt: 245. Wild Card

"Deuces wild," Embry announced as he started passing out the cards.

"What?" I glanced at Jen, who looked about as confused as I felt.

"It means twos can be any card," Quil explained.

"Why?" Jen.

"Why not just let them be twos?" Me.

"Because…" Embry glanced at Jacob and Quil for help.

Quil rubbed his forehead, looking half-amused and half like he had a headache. "We don't know. That's just the way the game's played."

Jacob just shook his head. "See why you shouldn't invite your girlfriends to these card games?"

I think he was going to say more, but that was about the point where Jen and I attacked him.

* * *

January 25- Claire  
Prompt: 141. Ghost

Sometimes I felt like a ghost wandering around the house late at night. When I couldn't sleep and Quil was out on patrol—the two seemed to go hand in hand—I'd wander around the house like a spirit, trapped somewhere in that in between place, with nothing of substance tying me there.

Quil was out with the pack. He'd be back my early morning. He had said so before he left, right after dinner. I could imagine him running through the woods with his brothers now.

I wandered into his room. Everything in there smelled like Quil. I could feel him so strongly he may as well have really been there.

I went and perched on his windowsill, like I had done so many nights before, and gazed out the window towards the trees. Waiting for my werewolf to come home.

* * *

January 26- Quil  
Prompt: 359. Wounds

I slipped silently back into the house, wincing slightly. We'd gotten the bloodsucker we were after, but she'd managed to take a swipe at me before we could finish her off. The wound in my side was already healing quickly, but there was still blood all over.

I stopped in the bathroom and cleaned my side with a towel. By the time I was done, the wound was just a dark pink scar. It would be gone altogether soon enough.

Unsurprised, I found Claire in my room, slumped against the window pane.

I sighed. "Come on, sweetheart," I whispered as I gently picked her up. "Let's get you in bed." She didn't wake as I carried her back to her room, but she burrowed closer to me as I held her.

Some wounds, I'd found, took a lot longer to heal.

* * *

January 27- Quil  
Prompt: 119. Dishes

I kissed her shoulder. "You look like a little haus frau," I informed her as she dried one of the plates we'd used for dinner.

After setting the plate down on the counter, she jabbed her elbow at me. "Don't get used to it." She turned her head so I could kiss her mouth this time. Claire grinned against me. "I fully plan on making you do all this later."

I laughed. "I kind of like it." I fingered the strings on her apron. "It appeals to something in me."

Claire rolled her eyes. "I'm sure. It's called your stomach." She turned back to the dishes in the sink.

"You know what they say, the way to a man's heart…"

"…Is through his chest."

I fake frowned at her. "How did I end up with such a cynic?"

She ducked her head, trying to hide her expression, but I still saw her smile. "Just got lucky, I guess."

* * *

January 28- Claire  
Prompt: 191. Sink

I was quickly coming to the conclusion that either Billy was lonely, or his house was just falling apart at the seams.

I'm not quite sure which it was, because half the time when I passed the Blacks' place, I saw Charlie Swan's cruiser in the driveway, or else someone else would be coming in or out. And… well, even if the house _was_ falling apart, there was no limit of people who could, and would, come fix something.

I peered into the sink. "What have you been putting down here, anyway?"

Billy shrugged. "Normal things, I guess."

I shook my head. "You sure? I've never seen a sink so clogged. When was the last time anyone did anything to this?"

Billy seemed to fall deep in thought. "Well… let's see…" He fell silent for a moment.

When he started ticking off his fingers, I groaned. "I have my work cut out for me."

* * *

January 29- Claire  
Prompt: 175. Big

There's an old adage about how you can tell the size of a man's… well, you know… by looking at his hands and feet.

For some reason, I was thinking about this as Quil and I laid on the couch, watching a movie on TV. I was laying against his chest, and his hand was resting over my stomach. Somewhere in the midst of the movie, I picked up his hand—which completely dwarfed my own—and started turning it over in my hand.

He was _huge._ Everything about him was huge. I could nearly fit both my feet into one of his shoes. He was well over six-and-a-half feet tall. I felt like a child standing next to him.

I wondered…

"What are you smiling about?"

I kissed his palm, then set it back down on my stomach, giving it a light pat. "Nothing."

* * *

January 30- Claire  
Prompt: 308. Duct tape

I considered the remains of Quil's shirt. "Well… it's not _completely_ lost."

Quil—who had already changed into some decent clothes when I found him—gave me an arch look. "Are you kidding? The thing's a goner, Claire."

I ignored him. "Do we have any duct tape?"

"Do we have any _what?_"

"Duct tape."

Quil shook his head. "That's not going to help anything."

"Of course it is," I shot back. "Duct tape solves everything. Come on," I continued, turning to leave his room. "If we don't have any we'll have to go buy some."

I heard Quil snort, but he followed behind me. "You really need to stop phasing with your clothes on," I chided him over my shoulder. "How am I supposed to go to college if we have to spend all our money on buying you new clothes?"

"How are you supposed to go to college if you keep buying more duct tape to fix my clothes?"

I rolled my eyes. "Nice try. Duct tape's much cheaper."

* * *

January 31- Claire  
Prompt: 079. Letter

_Claire,_

_I'm at Sam and Emily's. I'll be home long before dinner. Didn't want to wake you. Call if you need me._

_I love you,_

_Quil_

I smiled as I read his note a second time, shaking my head. I used to think he was silly, writing me notes like this, when I'd always know—or think I knew—where he was.

But there's something comforting about that sort of stability.

* * *

A/N: Wow. This is twenty-one pages. Yikes.

I kind of like writing the little moments. :) I am kind of annoyed that I keep finding good prompts to do, but I can't write them till later in the year. :( Darn continuity.


	2. February

**February**

February 1- Quil  
Prompt: 319. Elope

Embry plopped down on the couch. "We should've just eloped when we had the chance."

I laughed. "It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say," Embry grumbled. "You're not the one who has to do all the wedding planning."

"I think you'll live."

"Yeah, well, take it from me. When you and Claire decide to tie the knot, save yourselves and go to Vegas."

"Emily would kill us. Come to think of it, so would Audrey. You want my in-laws to hate me?"

Embry shook his head. "It'll be worth it, trust me." He let out a defeated sigh and sank into the couch, muttering something that sounded like "Only one more month, only one more month…"

* * *

February 2- Claire  
Prompt: 114. Hands

Go into just about any co-ed high school, and you'll see them. Couples holed up in corners, making eyes at each other, or saying long drawn out goodbyes before class.

One couple in particular would stand outside my third period class everyday. They looked a little like they were trying to eat each other's face. You'd think these people weren't going to see each other in another fifty minutes.

I got to watch this go on everyday. But if you ask me, I got the better deal.

Or at least, I always thought so in the afternoon when I got to climb into Quil's truck and hold his hand the whole way home.

* * *

A/N: There was a couple that did that my senior year of high school… One of 'em had the class next door, and they'd block the doorway everyday. Someone ought to do a study on the apparent cannibalistic tendencies of high schoolers.

* * *

February 3- Claire  
Prompt: 148. Fate

I watched Quil put more wood in the fireplace. At least it wasn't snowing tonight—it was just so bitterly _cold._ It was supposed to be one of the coldest winters in a long time.

I was just glad I had my own portable space heater.

Quil came back to the couch and drew me against his side. "You look so serious," he commented. "What are you thinking about?"

"Do you ever think about fate?"

I felt his chest vibrate beneath me as he chuckled. "All the time."

"Do you think everything happens for a reason?" I bit my lip. I wasn't sure how to keep this from coming out badly.

There was a pause. "Yes." I felt Quil's gaze on me, but I didn't look away from the fireplace. "Why?"

I shrugged. "It's nothing really." It wasn't. It was just something I'd gotten on my mind earlier that day that I would have rather gotten rid of. "I'm supposed to have been made for you, right?"

Quil looked confused. "Right."

"I was just thinking… do you think I'm here for more than just that?" I blushed. "Not that I have a problem with that reason."

I felt him kiss the top of my head. "Are you seriously worried about that?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I never even really thought that much about it."

"Hmm," Quil murmured thoughtfully. He lifted my chin so that I was looking at him. "You're going to do a lot of amazing things," he informed me, a smile playing on his lips. "And thank God, I get to be the lucky bastard who gets to stand by you through it all." He shook his head. "I still don't know what I did to deserve that."

I grinned, then leaned up to kiss him. When I pulled away, I swatted playfully at his chest. "Okay, enough with the sappiness."

Quil laughed. "You got it."

* * *

February 4- Claire  
Prompt: 228. Witch

"_I'm not a witch! I'm your _wife!_ And I don't know if I even want to be that anymore!"_

Quil groaned. "When you said you wanted a movie night, I thought you'd at least pick something new. We've watched this a thousand times." He gestured at the screen. "You can practically quote this movie word for word."

"'He's only _mostly_ dead,'" I said.

Quil rolled his eyes. "Exactly. Couldn't we watch something else?" He gave me a pleading look. He was so cute I almost couldn't resist him. Almost.

"Right, like your suggestion about watching _The Godfather? _Again?"

He kept his expression perfectly innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

A/N: If you know what movie I'm quoting from, I will love you forever. :-) Umm… in a friendly, non-creepy stalker way, I mean…

* * *

February 5- Claire  
Prompt: 004. Laundry

I wrinkled my nose. "Quil!"

Quil poked his head into the laundry room. "What's wrong?"

I held out the offending article of clothing. "Why are your boxers in with my laundry?"

"I don't know," Quil said, shrugging. "They probably just got in there by mistake. What's the problem?"

"Nothing, normally. But you want to explain what's all over them?" I wasn't sure if I should be amused or nauseated. Possibly both.

"What are you—" Quil took a better look at the pair in my hand, before grabbing it suddenly from me. "You didn't see that."

"Right." I turned back to the washing machine I had been filling. "Don't know what it is, either."

"Exactly."

I grinned despite myself. "Life is so much easier if we pretend we're in denial, don't you think?"

"My thoughts exactly."

* * *

A/N: …No comment.

* * *

February 6- Quil  
Prompt: 281. Broken Glass

"Don't move," I ordered.

Claire glared at me while trying to balance on her one, uninjured foot. "If you hadn't dropped it, I wouldn't have broken glass stuck in my foot right now."

I winced, feeling a familiar rush of guilt that always came whenever Claire got hurt by anything—my fault or not. "I know. Just hold on, and I'll get it out, okay?"

"I can get it myself," she responded huffily.

"Claire."

She sighed. "Sorry." She always seemed to get especially testy when she felt helpless.

"Come on," I said, when I reached her, deftly avoiding the broken glass on the floor. I lifter her up onto the counter. "Let's get this cleaned up before it does any more damage."

I quickly swept up the glass from the kitchen and then returned to her side. "Let's have a look at that foot." I examined it for a moment, keeping my expression grave. "Hmm."

"What?"

I shook my head. "It's looking pretty bad."

"_What?"_

"I think it's going to have to come off."

That finally elicited a laugh. "Quil!" She hit my shoulder lightly—or at any rate, I wouldn't have noticed at all if I hadn't seen the motion. "Just get tweezers and leave the surgery to the real doctors."

* * *

February 7- Quil  
Prompt: 070. Good Morning

"Rise and shine, sweetheart," I announced, pulling Claire up into a sitting position. "I've got a surprise for you."

Claire peered at me through half-closed eyes. "Quil, it's still dark outside." She looked at the clock on her bedside table. "God, Quil, it's two in the morning!"

"I know." I lifted her out of bed, ignoring her protests. "This can't wait."

I made our way into the kitchen and sat her down at the table. "Now, what would you like?"

Claire shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"For breakfast, silly." I grinned.

She gaped at me. "Quil, it's the middle of the night."

"I know." I leaned down and kissed her, which seemed to only confuse her further. I chuckled. "But there's no way I'm going to be up when normal people _actually_ eat breakfast, so…"

More head shaking, but at least this time she was smiling. "You're too much. Have I told you that lately?"

I grinned, and kissed her again before heading for the refrigerator. "Only every chance you get. But seriously, now." I opened the fridge and pulled out various food items, holding them up for her to inspect. "Eggs or waffles?"

* * *

February 8- Claire  
Prompt: 201. Eyelashes

"You know what I've never noticed before?" I was currently perched on Quil's lap in the kitchen. I had come home from school about an hour earlier to find him in an especially amorous mood—something that didn't happen nearly as often as I'd like… well, at least he didn't give into it nearly as often as I'd like.

"What?"

I kissed the tip of his nose before moving on to his eyelids. "You have absurdly long eyelashes for a man."

Quil grinned. "Do I now?"

I pulled back, frowning at him. "Am I amusing you?"

"Just a little bit." He pulled me closer again. "But I like it."

* * *

February 9- Quil  
Prompt: 117. Silk

My throat suddenly felt very dry. "Jen's out of her mind."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "It's not that bad."

"Yes, it is. What's she thinking? Silk bridesmaids' dresses?"

Jacob peered at Emily's dress, which was currently laying over the back of a chair outside the dressing rooms. "I don't think it's real silk, anyway. Way too expensive."

I looked at him incredulously. "Since when do you know anything about silk?"

"I've been around," he said defensively.

"Yes, I know, but what does that have to do with this conversation?" I ducked Jacob's fist easily. "But seriously, they can't wear this. No guy in the room will be able to take their eyes off them. You can't have the bridesmaids outshine the bride."

Jake snorted. "Yeah, I don't think Embry will be thinking that." He patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, I don't think Claire will be able to take her eyes off you, either."

"Then I guess you haven't heard Jen's idea for our tuxes."

Jake just groaned.

* * *

February 10- Claire  
Prompt: 264. Broken

I crawled out of bed, pulling the blankets along with me and wrapping them around my shoulders.

Quil was gone for the night. Of course. I could always count on more nightmares when he was on patrol.

I sighed, making my way to his bedroom. It felt so cold without him there.

I took up my position in the window, leaning against the pane. I sighed. Ten months, and I still felt as though my entire world had been shattered. Wasn't that ridiculous? Shouldn't I be okay by now?

I was just grateful that it wasn't like this all the time. That had to count for something, right? I couldn't be completely broken. I got through life okay, I didn't break down at the smallest thing. I was happy. Or at least not _un_happy.

I shook my head. No, that wasn't fair. I _was_ happy. It's just that, every now and then, a few of the cracks in what should have been my perfect life would decide to make themselves known, and it'd be like I was little more than a bit of shattered glass.

It's just that it seemed to be taking an awfully long time to put all the pieces back together. I wondered sometimes if we hadn't lost a few along the way.

* * *

February 11- Claire  
Prompt: 065. Toilet

"Oh, thank God," I sighed. I thrust the plunger into Jacob's hands. "Here, I don't know what he did in there, but it's a mess."

Jacob peered over my shoulder at the thin layer of water on the bathroom floor. "Shit," he muttered. He ran a hand through his hair. "How long's it been like this?"

"Awhile," I informed him, moving away from the door. A very unpleasant odor was wafting out of the bathroom. "At least I got the water to stop coming out. Just don't flush it." I motioned to mini-swimming pool on the floor. "That's how we got this."

"Great." Jake glanced back at me. "Sure you don't want to stick around while I mop this up?"

I wrinkled my nose. "I think I'll pass, thanks. I've kind of had to go for the past hour. Since this one's not going to be open anytime soon…"

Jake grimaced. "Too much info, thanks."

"Anytime." I patted his arm—all that I could easily reach—and turned to go. "Have fun with that."

* * *

February 12- Claire  
Prompt: 108. Sword

"Fencing? Why would you want to take up fencing?"

Audrey sighed. "I told you, I thought it'd be fun. Mom and Dad spent all of break telling me how I need more extra-curricular activities. You heard them."

I sandwiched the phone between my ear and my shoulder while I folded the towels I'd just pulled from the dryer. "Yeah, but I thought they meant something like the newspaper or something."

"Hmm, yeah, well, the newspaper's more for the journalism people. I'd be the only business major there."

"True."

"And anyway, it's just started. It's more of a club then anything, we're not even really that competitive. And there are some really nice people there…"

I rolled my eyes, knowing from experience where this was going. "Uh-huh. What's his name?"

"Brady, but that's not why I'm doing it."

"Right, Audrey. Whatever you say."

* * *

February 13- Quil  
Prompt: 037. Disgrace

"What do you think?" I asked Embry, holding up the necklace I'd bought for Claire. "Too much?"

"God, Quil, from the way you were going you were going on about it, you might as well have gotten her a ring." Embry rolled his eyes. "It's fine. She'll probably freak."

I scowled at him. "It's only been four months." I toyed with the necklace in my hands. "Four tomorrow, actually."

"Yes, I know." He shook his head at me. "You've only mentioned it a million times. Honestly, man, you're pretty much a disgrace as a guy."

I chucked the jewelry box at him. "Shut up. You were ten times worse with Jen."

"Whatever. Just don't start crying at chick flicks or anything, all right? I think that'd be more than I could take."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

February 14- Claire  
Prompt: 008. Valentine's Day

"Quil!"

He watched me anxiously. "You like it?"

"I love it!" I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck and landing a kiss on his cheek. "It's beautiful." I pulled back to admire the necklace, smiling down at the pretty charm. Then, I mock-glared at him. "I thought I told you I didn't want anything."

Quil laughed. "I tried, really. But I couldn't help myself when I saw it."

"Uh-huh. Because you just _happened_ to be wandering the mall, and you just _happened_ to notice the jewelry store."

"Exactly," he said.

"Quil, you never go to the mall."

He sighed. He pulled me onto his lap and nuzzled his face into my neck. "Just be nice and say thank you, all right?"

I giggled. "Thank you, Quil."

"You're welcome." He straightened. "Now. Where's my present?"

I stared at him blankly. "Present?"

"Claire, I know you said you didn't want anything, but I _distinctly_ recall not saying anything like that. So, come on, where is it?"

I shook my head. "I don't know what you're talking about. I assumed we weren't getting each other anything."

Quil leveled his gaze at me. "Claire."

I sighed, slipping off his lap. I went into my room and fished around my closet for the wrapped package I'd hidden there. I handed it to him when I came back, sitting on the couch again. "You're really no fun."

Quil just grunted as he started tearing at the wrapping paper. "So you've been telling me since you were five."

* * *

February 15- Claire  
Prompt: 311. Fashion

Quil held up the shirt for me to inspect. "What do you think?"

I had to suppress a giggle. "Absolutely not," I choked out.

"What's wrong with it?" Quil frowned at the thing in his hands. "I like it."

"It's polka-dotted."

"So?"

I shook my head. "Quil, just trust me on this. You don't want to be seen outside in that. In fact, you should seriously consider burning the thing altogether."

Quil sighed, throwing the shirt into the pile of clothes we were getting rid of. "I guess you're going to say no to the striped pants, too, huh?"

Thankfully, the pile of clothes was there to break my fall when I fell off his bed laughing.

* * *

February 16- Claire  
Prompt: 255. Rhyme

I sighed, tossing down my pen. "This is hopeless. How am I supposed to write fourteen lines of this?"

Quil shrugged. "Shakespeare managed to write a hundred and fifty of these. You can probably manage just one."

"I doubt it." I waved my hand at the paper in front of me. "I've got two lines, my meter's completely off, and I can't think of anything that'll rhyme with 'hot' and still fit."

Quil cocked his head to the side. "I can think of a few things," he said, grinning.

I laughed. "I'm sure you can. But I was looking for something _school appropriate._"

Quil shook his head. "It's a sonnet. It's pretty much a love poem by definition." He shrugged again. "They're almost asking for it."

"Somehow I don't think my teacher's going to agree with you." I picked up my pen again. "You might as well put some coffee on. We're going to be here for awhile."

He raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"Yes, we. Who do you think's going to help me stay awake?" I nodded firmly. "If I have to suffer, you're suffering with me."

"Good to know." Quil stood from the kitchen table and started for the cabinet where we kept the coffee maker. He paused, turning back to look at me. "You want _my_ coffee?"

I sighed. "Good point." I got up to make it myself.

* * *

February 17- Claire  
Prompt: 128. Failure

Three hours and two cups of coffee later, it was just after 1AM, and I was finally done with the stupid assignment.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my eyes. "It's awful."

I heard Quil chuckle. "Hardly."

I glared at him. "You only say that because you love me."

"Maybe," he admitted, shrugging. "If it's any consolation, it's better than what I could've done."

I snorted. "No offense, Quil, but I've read your poetry. That's not saying much."

Quil feigned a hurt expression. "You wound me, Claire. I thought you enjoyed my poems." Then he laughed at my incredulous expression. "Fine, you're right." He stood from the table and held out a hand to me. "Come on, let's go to bed."

* * *

February 18- Claire  
Prompt: 157. Oven

"Oh, good, you're here," I said when I saw Jacob come in. I pulled off the apron I'd borrowed from Billy and handed it to him. "Take the meatloaf out of the oven in about an hour, okay?"

"Er… sure thing." Jake stared down at the apron in his hands for a moment and then looked back at me. "Where are you going?"

"Home," I informed him. "_I_ have a paper to write for tomorrow, and I forgot all about my promise to Billy to help make dinner."

"Ah, yes." Jacob grinned. "The life of a procrastinating high school student."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Just take it out when the timer goes off, okay?" I grabbed my jacket and started for the door. "And don't burn yourself!"

I heard him chuckle behind me. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

February 19- Claire  
Prompt: 360. Marshmallow

I dug around the cupboard. "Quil, did you eat all the marshmallows _again?_"

Quil tried to look innocent. "Why would you think I ate them?"

I shot him a look. "Oh, I don't know… Maybe it's because you're constantly eating us out of house and home…"

He ignored that one. "Why do you want marshmallows, anyway?"

"I was going to make s'mores."

Quil frowned. "With what?"

"The microwave." I noticed his incredulous expression. "What's wrong with the microwave?"

"Nothing." His expression said otherwise.

I rolled my eyes. A moment later, I pulled out an empty marshmallow bag. "_Quil!"_

He looked sheepish. "Sorry. I should, uh, go get some more."

I tossed his car keys at him. "Yeah. Go do that."

* * *

February 20- Quil  
Prompt: 083. Movies

I wrinkled my nose. "Claire, not again."

She gave me her most pitiful look. "But Quil, you said I could choose _anything._"

I sighed. "Yes, but I thought you were going to choose something we haven't seen a thousand times."

Claire pouted. "Come on, I watch what you want to when it's your turn to pick." I couldn't really argue with that, and she knew it. "_Please?"_

I sighed again. I couldn't say no to her. "All right, all right." I took the tape from her and put it in. "Princess Bride it is. Again."

* * *

February 21- Quil  
Prompt: 242. Want

I was an idiot. That's really all there was to it.

I spent half my life waiting for moments like this—moments where I could just lay down on the couch with her and just hold her. For the longest time I didn't even think we'd ever reach this point, and that if we ever did… well, I thought that would be more than enough for me. More than I could ever hope for.

And yet… moments like this, I find myself wanting something else entirely.

* * *

February 22- Claire  
Prompt: 209. Protection

I scowled at him. "I hate it when you have to go."

Quil smiled down at me. "I know." He leaned down and kissed me lightly. "I'll see you when I get home, okay?"

I sighed. "Okay." I stood in the doorway, hugging myself in an attempt to keep warm, as I watched him hop off our front porch and start running toward trees.

I shook my head, smiling a little despite myself. This was what I got for loving a werewolf. I wasn't the only one he had to protect.

* * *

February 23- Claire  
Prompt: 078. Paint

I stepped back from the easel, wrinkling my nose. "What was I thinking?"

Quil looked over my shoulder. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah, it kind of is," Jacob said, grimacing. "Ow! Hey!" He rubbed his arm and glared at Quil, who had punched him. "What was that for?"

"Don't fight," I said absently. Then I glanced back at Quil. "At least Jake's honest."

Quil put his arms around my waist. "I _am_ honest. You could never make anything that I didn't like. Shut up, Jacob," he added in response to the gagging noises Jake was making behind us. "I've heard worse from you."

Jacob made a face. "Yeah, well, I never sounded that mushy."

Quil snorted. "Right."

I glanced back and forth between them. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," Jacob interjected before Quil could open his mouth.

I sighed, shaking my head. I dropped my paint brush into the glass of water I had next to my easel. "Why didn't one of you try to stop me before I started this hobby?"

"I _did_ try to stop you," Jacob pointed out. "Twice."

"Yes, well…" I thought for a moment. "Oh, nevermind."

* * *

February 24- Claire  
Prompt: 017. Sickness

"Claire? Are you okay?"

I groaned, hugging the toilet for dear life. I shut my eyes. Stupid Bobby Blake. That's all I could think. My stupid lab partner for biology who came to school even when he was sick enough to start puking in the cafeteria. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ Bobby Blake.

"Claire?"

"I'm fine," I managed to call back to Quil.

A pause. "You don't sound fine."

Of course I didn't. I'd been sitting there since three this morning. That was… I didn't even want to know how long ago.

I heard the door crack open. "Oh, Claire," Quil sighed.

"Go 'way," I mumbled, shutting my eyes.

"Don't think so." Quil knelt next to me and peeled me away from the toilet. When I opened my eyes, I saw him grimace. "You need to change."

I scowled at him.

"Don't argue," he ordered, helping me to my feet.

"I don't think—" I stopped suddenly, jerking away from him and leaning over the toilet once again.

"Right," Quil said when I was done. "_Now_ you need to change."

* * *

February 25- Claire  
Prompt: 223. Complain

"It's hot," I whined.

Quil rolled his eyes, tucking the blankets more securely around me so that I couldn't kick them off again. "That's only because you're sick."

"Exactly. So, if I'm already hot, how is making me hotter going to help?" Personally, I thought my logic was flawless.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, perhaps you're right." He started for the door.

"Wait!" I cried. "Where are you going?"

Quil turned back to look at me. "You just said making you hotter wasn't going to help," he said innocently.

I scowled at him. "You know what I meant."

Quil just laughed, but at least he came back to sit next to me. "You complain a lot," he informed me.

I shrugged. "I'm sick, I'm allowed to complain a little."

Quil raised an eyebrow. "A little?"

"Shut up and take this extra blanket off me, okay?"

* * *

February 26- Claire  
Prompt: 111. Bath

I sank into the bathtub, sighing contentedly. "You have no idea how nice this feels," I called to Quil, who was dutifully standing outside the door.

I heard him chuckle. "Not too hot?"

I rolled my eyes, though I knew he couldn't see. "It's fine, thanks."

"Good to hear." I heard a shuffling outside the door. "You know how long you're going to be in there for?"

"A while." I grinned. He had insisted on waiting for me to finish. I was determined to enjoy myself.

More shuffling. "You sure?"

"Quil, if you want to go do something else…"

"No, no, I'm fine. Take your time."

I shook my head. And he thought _I_ was stubborn.

* * *

February 27- Claire  
Prompt: 210. Antidote

"How are you feeling?" Emily wanted to know.

"A hundred percent better," I told her, forking up some of the macaroni she'd made me. That was the best part of being sick—people came and made you food. "A little rest and a nice long bath were just the thing."

Emily laughed. "Yeah, I heard about the bath."

I glanced up at her. "Did you?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh. Apparently that night Quil spent the entire time on patrol grumbling about how he had to miss dinner." Emily shook her head at me. "Drove Sam crazy."

I grinned, looking down at my plate. "It was his own fault. He's incredibly stubborn."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Yes, I've noticed."

* * *

February 28- Claire  
Prompt: 362. Moon

"Are you _sure_ a full moon has nothing to do with your phasing?"

"Claire, how many times have we been over this? That's just a myth."

I frowned, glancing out the window. "Then I think you should debunk the myth and stay home tonight."

Quil shook his head. "Nice try, but it's not going to work." He leaned in to kiss me, then started for the door. "If it's any consolation, this won't go on forever." He glanced over his shoulder at me. "_Eventually,_ I'll stop phasing altogether."

I sighed. "It isn't the phasing I have a problem with," I pointed out. I shook my head. "Fine, fine, go then." I waved him out the door. "I'll see you when you get back."

The many hazards of dating a werewolf.

* * *

A/N: Oi, this one took me forever. Which is funny, since it's the shortest month. XD Only 17 pages (18 with the author's note) this time.

Things for you to look forward to in March: a wedding, a party, more Jacob (because I 3 him and I'm setting up for… later. I'd tell you what for, but then I might get your hopes up, and that'd be evil. -sigh-) and more Quil and Claire, of course. But that goes without saying.

I'm about ready for… say… September.


	3. March

**March**

March 1- Quil  
Prompt: 104. Chair

I shook my head. "I don't like it."

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"It won't fit."

Claire looked at me incredulously. "What are you talking about? It'll fit perfectly." She waved a hand at the chair we were looking at. "It totally matches the couch."

I wrinkled my nose. "Why do we even need to buy more furniture, anyway?"

She sighed. "We've been over this already. We need more places to sit down than just the couch. I'm surprised we've managed this long, to be honest."

"What's wrong with just having the couch?"

"Quil, do you have _any_ idea how much room you take up?"

* * *

March 2- Claire  
Prompt: 305. Moving In

I froze. "Embry," I said slowly, eyeing the suitcase he was carrying warily. "What are you doing here?"

Embry dropped his bag in the entry way. "Moving in."

"What's wrong with your house?"

He made a face. "My future mother-in-law's there."

"And you couldn't stay there because…"

"What part of _future mother-in-law _do you not understand?"

I sighed. "How long's she going to be there for?"

"Just till the wedding." Embry at least had the decency to look sheepish.

I groaned. "Absolutely not."

* * *

March 3- Claire  
Prompt: 225. Jewelry

"Did you get the rings?" I asked Quil.

"Of course."

I leaned toward him. "Can I see them?" I asked eagerly.

"No!"

I frowned. "Why not?"

"Claire, do you remember what happened when Embry showed you the engagement ring?"

"No," I said innocently.

"Yeah, well, I do. You ended up describing it—in great detail, mind you—to Jen."

"So?"

"_Before_ she knew it was coming."

I waved my hand dismissively. "They'd already been living together for three years, not to mention he'd imprinted on her. She had to know it was coming eventually." This, however, didn't seem to sway Quil in the slightest. "Come on," I pled. "I'd show you."

"Yes, and that's why Embry asked me to be his best man and not you."

* * *

March 4- Claire  
Prompt: 179. Cookies

I slapped Quil's hand away. "Don't touch! Those aren't for you."

"What?" Quil stared at me. "You're not going to eat them all yourself?"

"Don't be ridiculous. They're for Jen's bachelorette party." A moment later, I slapped Embry's hand away. "What did I just say?"

"Yeah, but she's my wife," Embry whined. "Isn't what's hers mine?"

"She's not your wife for another nine days," I reminded him. "Till then, _don't touch the baked goods!_"

"You know," Embry said to Quil, "I think I almost liked her better when she couldn't cook."

* * *

March 5- Claire  
Prompt: 082. Porn

"She doesn't hate you."

Embry laughed. "Easy for you to say. You didn't see her the last time she visited." He shook his head. "The woman thinks I'm a complete pervert."

"You mean more so than she did when you started dating her underage daughter?"

"Hey," Embry said defensively, "she was almost legal. That wasn't my fault." He shot me a look. "'Sides, you're not exactly one to talk. You're still only, what, fourteen? Fifteen?"

I rolled my eyes. He knew exactly how old I was. "Why does she think you're a perv this time?"

His response was too low for me to hear. "What was that?"

He said it again a little louder.

"She found your PORN?" I nearly shrieked. "You still have _porn?_"

"I haven't looked at it in forever! I completely forgot it was there!" He looked sheepish. "Not that that helped me any. It just gave her a pretty good idea of what I've been doing instead."

* * *

A/N: It was a bit hard to think of a way to fit that prompt in with so many imprinting werewolves. :-P

* * *

March 6- Claire  
Prompt: 050. Pain

"Ow! Owowowowow!" I howled, hopping up and down. "Damn it!"

"Claire?" Quil was at my side in an instant. "What happened? What's wrong?"

I pointed at my foot, gritting my teeth.

"Er… you hurt your foot?"

"Mmph," was what came out of my mouth.

"Let me see," he ordered, bending down so he could inspect my injured foot.

"OW!"

"Claire, I haven't even touched it." I shut my mouth. "What did you do to it, anyway? It's all red."

"I stubbed my toe."

Quil just shook his head and muttered something about "accident-prone."

"I heard that!"

* * *

March 7- Claire  
Prompt: 147. Poker

"You have to be kidding me." I stared at Quil incredulously. "You're kicking me out so you guys can play _poker?_"

Quil grimaced. "It's tradition. We always have a poker game the Sunday before a wedding. Always. We had one for Sam, we had one for Jared, we had one for Seth—"

"Did you have one for Leah?" I asked, fairly sure I knew what the answer was.

"Well, not exactly. But that was—"

"Different?" Quil just sighed. "And you can't have it at Embry's because Jen's mother is there," I finished.

"Right." Quil gave me a pleading look. "It's only for a couple of hours."

I threw my hands in the air. "Fine. I'll go to Emily's." I jabbed my finger at him. "But you owe me."

Quil chuckled. "That's part of the tradition, too."

* * *

March 8- Claire  
Prompt: 326. Mud

I made a face. "I can't decide what's worse: the snow, or the mud that comes after it."

"Try getting it out of fur sometime, and then talk to me," Quil said, coming to stand next to me on the porch.

I glanced up at him. "How can you even tell the difference on you?" I teased. "Aren't you the same color?"

Quil rolled his eyes. "I'm chocolate-colored, Claire, not mud-colored."

"Hmm…"

"I wouldn't try it," he warned, reading my mind. "I could much more easily push you into the mud than you could me."

I sighed, defeated. "Oh, well."

* * *

March 9- Claire  
Prompt: 315. Satan

"You know there are parents who won't let their kids watch Aladdin?"

"_Aladdin?_ Why?"

I shrugged. "Apparently because it has a genie in it."

Quil looked confused. "Yeah, so?"

"It's 'satanic.'"

Quil burst out laughing. "Aladdin? Are you serious?"

"Yeah." I laughed, too. "Trust me, I don't get it either. Have they even _watched _the movie?"

* * *

A/N: So, yeah, I just had a mini-rant on my livejournal blog about how people at my (Christian) university are planning to boycott The Golden Compass, and I was reminded of a conversation I had with some of my suitemates earlier this semester about how her parents wouldn't let her watch Aladdin as a kid, along with a butt load of other movies. I think it's kind of ridiculous, if the drabble didn't portray that well enough.

* * *

March 10- Quil  
Prompt: 254. Waiting

"It's only three more days." I pointed out.

"I know."

"After that, it'll be over. We'll all be back to our normal living arrangements, Jen's mom will go back home, the wedding will be over, there won't be anything to worry about again for awhile."

"I know. That's not the problem."

I sighed. "Then what's wrong?"

"The _problem,"_ Claire said, waving her arm at the living room in general, "is all _this._ I realize this used to be his house, but does he have to leave his dirty underwear in the middle of the room?"

* * *

March 11- Claire  
Prompt: 096. Taste

"Jake! Taste this." I shoved my spoon at him.

Jacob took the spoon from me and took a taste. He made a face. "Less salt," he said hoarsely.

I groaned. "I didn't put any salt in it!"

"What are you making, anyway?"

I set the spoon down on the counter. "I was trying to make something for the wedding."

Jacob grimaced. "Now?"

"Well, I wasn't going to make it a month ago."

"Of course not, but you couldn't have looked at a recipe before now?" When I just glared at him, Jake rolled his eyes and continued, "Anyway, why are you using Billy's kitchen to make…" he peered into the pot on the stove dubiously, "whatever it is you're making?"

"Because Embry's using mine to make his stew."

Jacob turned green. "Oh, God."

"Exactly."

* * *

March 12- Claire  
Prompt: 163. Hanged Man

"You guys are terrible at this," I complained. "Come on, famous person… you learned about him in high school…"

"Claire," Quil said, slightly exasperated, "we didn't exactly pay the closest attention during high school."

"Yeah, but you would've learned about him freshman year! None of you were werewolves yet! And _you_," I said, pointing at Sam, "_you_ went through just about all of high school before you phased, so you don't even have that as an excuse."

They all stared at the piece of paper in front of us. The poor figure on it was one limb away from death.

"'B'?" Seth offered pitifully.

I slapped my forehead. "No." I drew on the last leg. "Jeez. It's Charles Dickens."

"Who?" Paul.

"Wasn't he a general or something?" Jared.

I gaped at them. "He was a writer." Blank stares. "A Tale of Two Cities? Great Expectations?"

"Never heard of 'em." Embry.

"Are those even real books?" Colin.

I rolled my eyes. "This is the lamest bachelor party in history."

* * *

March 13- Quil  
Prompt: 005. Wedding

I couldn't take my eyes off her. Not that I ever could. But today she was breathtaking—her hair was done up perfectly, and her light blue dress fitted her small body perfectly. She looked like an angel.

"_Pay attention,"_ she mouthed at me, jerking her head slightly toward the minister.

I tried.

"Do you… take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

I grinned. How long more before this would be happening to us? Not for awhile yet… there was still a good four years to look forward to before I could even think about it.

But I didn't want to think about the next four years. Not today.

I focused again, and watched one of my best and oldest friends get married.

* * *

March 14- Claire  
Prompt: 053. Dance

I slid into the chair next to Jacob. "Where's your date?"

"She had to go home."

I raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't take her?"

Jacob sent me a look. "Her mother picked her up." And then, before I could respond, "Don't start."

"Don't start what?"

Jake held up his hand and started ticking off his fingers. "She was too young for me—and before you tell me she looked like she was fifteen, I saw her driver's license, she's twenty-three—she sat here and prattled on about herself all night, she's too pretty…"

"Actually," I cut in, "what I was _going _to say was that she's too dumb for you." I frowned. "She had her _mother_ come pick her up?"

"Yeah."

I shook my head. Then I held out my hand. "How about this? You come dance with me."

"I don't think so."

"Why not? I know you can dance," I informed him, "so don't try to say you can't. I remember perfectly well standing on your feet while you whirled me around at Jared and Kim's wedding, whenever Quil had to take a break."

Jacob laughed. "How can you remember that? You were four. _I_ barely remember that."

I shrugged. "Well, mostly what I remember is seeing a picture of it. Come on," I tried again. "I'll even stand on my own this time."

"I don't think so, Claire." Jake glanced over my shoulder. "Here comes Quil. How about you go dance with him? This night's for the lovers, not the friends."

"The good friends," I corrected him, though I still stood.

Jacob laughed. "The very best." He waved me off. "Go. Have fun."

With one last look back at Jacob, I went and met Quil. I grabbed his hand. "Let's dance."

"Aren't you tired yet?" Quil asked, laughing. "It's past midnight."

"Nope. Not at all," I informed him, tugging on his hand. "Come on. Jake's being a bum and I know _you_ at least can't say no to me." I gave him my most pitiful pout.

"Actually," Quil said, drawing me closer to him, "I was thinking we head home."

I frowned. "Home? Already?"

Quil leaned down and nuzzled my ear, making me giggle a little. "Well," he said slowly. "You know, Embry's gone…"

"Hmm…"

"We'd actually have the house to ourselves finally…"

"Say no more." I pulled away from him, still holding onto his hand. "Come on, let's go say goodbye."

* * *

A/N: Y'all should know that, after writing this prompt, I discovered my suitemates dancing the salsa. I thought it was very appropriate.

* * *

March 15- Claire  
Prompt: 197. Happiness

You remember those Peanuts cartoons that always start out with "Happiness is a…"?

Well, I think they've got it all wrong.

Happiness is waking up from a nightmare-free sleep.

Happiness is hearing the love of your life snoring in the next room. (Well, actually, what would be _really_ happy is hearing the love of your life snoring in bed right beside you. Alas, not yet.)

Happiness is a hot cup of coffee when it's bitterly cold outside.

But most of all, happiness is waking up to a living room devoid of male underwear—or any clothing, for that matter—and unexpected visitors.

* * *

March 16- Quil  
Prompt: 274. East

I groaned. "Claire, this is even worse than The Princess Bride."

"Shh, this part's good."

"You say that about every part." When she just glared at me, I shook my head, defeated. "Sorry."

"_What light through yonder window breaks? 'Tis the east, and Juliet is the sun."_

I just barely stopped myself from gagging. "Oh, give me a break."

"Quil!"

"Right, sorry."

* * *

March 17- Claire  
Prompt: 233. Hope

I rolled over in bed, squinting against the sudden light in the room. I sighed. "Quil."

I couldn't see his face clearly, but I knew he had to be grimacing. "Sorry. I can go back if you want me to."

"No, stay," I said, pulling back the covers for him. To be honest, it made me feel better having him there. Well, okay, I _always_ liked having him close by, even when we weren't having nightmares.

Quil crawled into bed with me, drawing me against his chest. "Tell me if I make you too hot," he whispered, leaning his head against my shoulder.

I just nodded and closed my eyes.

It's funny about nights like this. No matter how they started, I couldn't help but come away from them a little more hopeful.

* * *

March 18- Claire  
Prompt: 142. Cuddle

"This is nice," I murmured, burrowing closer to him.

"Hmm," he agreed.

I turned my head to kiss the underside of his chin. "We need to do this more often," I informed him, laying my head back on his chest.

Quil's chest vibrated with his laugh. "You won't hear an argument from me on that one."

I grinned, closing my eyes. "Good."

* * *

March 19- Claire  
Prompt: 328. Presentation

"How do I look?" I asked, perusing myself in the mirror. I scrunched up my face. "Too nice? Too casual?"

I saw Quil shake his head in the mirror, amused. "Claire, you're spending the weekend in a college dorm. How could you be too casual for that?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's all about how you present yourself," I said, turning to face him. "I want to make a good impression."

"You'll be fine," he assured me. Then, he shrugged. "Besides, even if they hate you, it's a big school. You'll probably never see them."

"Thanks, Quil, that helps a lot," I said sarcastically.

He just grinned. "I do my best."

* * *

March 20- Claire  
Prompt: 176. Small

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "I never realized dorm rooms were so…" I glanced around the tiny space, amazed at how much stuff could actually be fit in there with room left over for two people. "…small."

Callie, one of the girls I was spending the weekend with, laughed. "Yeah, a lot are like this." She pointed to one corner of the room. "You can just set your stuff down there for now," she said. "I visited a friend of mine earlier this semester, and her dorm room was about twice the size of this one." She shrugged. "Then again, her school's more expensive. That might help."

I just shook my head. "It's not so bad for me, it's just…" I smiled wryly. "It's going to be a bit cramped for my boyfriend next year whenever he comes to see me."

"Was your boyfriend that big guy I saw with you earlier?"

I nodded. "Yep, that's him."

Callie laughed. "Yeah, that might be a tight fit."

* * *

March 21- Claire  
Prompt: 190. Drowning

We were only apart for one day. That's all. It's not like we'd never done that before—I spent four and a half days with my parents and Audrey every Thanksgiving—but somehow it was worse this time.

I didn't realize how much I'd missed him until I saw him, waiting in the front lobby of Callie's dorm, looking as impatient as I felt.

I didn't think. I just dropped my duffle bag and ran to him, curling around him as best I could, like I was anxiously trying to fuse us together. I wanted to drown myself in his heat.

Quil laughed, wrapping me up in a hug. "I missed you, too, love."

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the wait, by the way. I didn't have internet access on my laptop over Winter break. :-(

* * *

March 22- Claire  
Prompt: 040. Blue

I held up the shirt for Jake's perusal. "What do you think?"

Jacob made a face and shook his head. "It's too blue."

I rolled my eyes. "How can it be too blue? He looks great in blue." It was the first official day of spring break, and I'd talked Jacob into taking me into Port Angeles to shop for Quil's birthday, since I couldn't exactly explain to Quil why I needed to borrow his truck.

Unfortunately, Jake's not much help.

"Why are getting him a shirt, anyway?" Jacob asked, following me as I made my way through the racks. "You know it'll just get ruined."

I shot him a look over a pile of sweaters. "That's exactly why I'm getting him clothes. He bursts out of them so much, pretty soon he won't have anything in his closet at all."

Jacob quirked an eyebrow at me. "I see. And this would bother you because…?"

"Shut up and help me look."

* * *

March 23- Claire  
Prompt: 200. Scars

I perched on the sink in the bathroom, watching Quil clean up a fresh wound. It made my stomach churn to see it, but I made myself stay with him, even after he told me to go back to bed. This was all apart of dating a werewolf.

Quil glanced at me. "It's not nearly as bad as it looks," he assured me. He lifted his arm so I could see the gash there closing up. "See? It'll be gone in no time."

I reached out to touch it tentatively, watching his face to make sure I wasn't hurting him. After a moment, I smiled weakly and drew back, lifting my own shirt to reveal the scar Matt had left there just a year ago. "We match."

Quil didn't respond. Before I could protest, he leaned forward and kissed my side where the faint pink scar was, and then he kissed my mouth.

"Hmm," he murmured, his hand coming up to nestle in my hair. "I think it looks better on you."

* * *

March 24- Quil  
Prompt: 139. Cherry

"Claire!" I called, kicking the front door closed behind me as I tried to juggle the groceries in my arms. "I've got something for you."

Claire appeared in her doorway, looking at curious. "What is it?"

I grinned. "Come see." I led the way to the kitchen, depositing the bags on the counter.

Claire peaked into each one until she finally found what I wanted her to. "Cherries!" she exclaimed, pulling the bag out. Before I could even say anything, she was at the sink, washing them.

I laughed. "Thought you'd like those."

* * *

A/N:-) I love cherries.

* * *

March 25- Claire  
Prompt: 358. Stamp

I rifled through the drawers in the kitchen. "Where are they?"

Quil came up behind me and peered over my shoulder. "Where are what?"

I frowned, moving aside a yellow notepad. "The stamps. We had plenty the last time I needed one." I looked back at him. "You couldn't have sent out much, could you?"

Quil shrugged. "Not that I can…" he paused, some realization obviously coming over him. "Er, you know what?" Quil reached around me and shut the drawer. "Forget about trying to find them. Let's just go to the post office, okay?"

I eyed him suspiciously. "What do you know?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Claire," Quil said, trying to sound innocent as he steered me toward the front door.

Suddenly, it dawned on me. "It was Embry, wasn't it?" Quil's mouth formed into a firm line as he did his best not to respond. "It was!"

"Claire—"

I groaned. "This is even worse than the dirty underwear."

Quil rolled his eyes. "Now you're just being mellow dramatic."

I scowled at him. "I had to share a house with him for eleven days. I had to eat his _stew._" Quil grimaced at the last part. "I think I've earned the right to be mellow dramatic."

"You lived with him for three years before that," he reminded me.

"Yeah, well, I was young and stupid then."

Quil didn't comment.

* * *

March 26- Quil  
Prompt: 238. Hell

I woke gasping for breath. God, not again.

I rolled out of bed, not daring to turn on a light. I stumbled out of my room and finally made it to the bathroom. Faint moonlight was coming through the high window, enough for me to adjust enough to brave the light switch.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror over the sink, cringing at the dark circles that had formed there. I didn't know how much longer I could take this. I couldn't keep going so many nights in a row with so little sleep, my nightmares be damned.

I shook my head. Was this my penance for so many years of dishonesty and distance? Was I going to be forced to live out the rest of my life in this hell?

Finally, I turned off the bathroom light and made my way back to my room. I couldn't bring myself to go to Claire's room tonight, no matter how much I longed to. She couldn't know how often I had nightmares about her.

I sank into my mattress, praying for dreamless oblivion.

* * *

March 27- Claire  
Prompt: 088. Shower

I closed my eyes, sighing. Sometimes I feel like I could stand under the shower head all day. It felt like bliss on my aching muscles.

I knew I should've just waited for Quil to come home, but I didn't like feeling like some helpless creature. Which was hard, considering I was constantly surrounded by people who were twice my size.

At any rate, it was probably a bad idea to insist on organizing our mess of a garage alone. It had been laying in complete disarray since… well, since probably Quil's grandfather bought it.

Still, it probably _wasn't_ the best of ideas to try to lift all those heavy boxes.

After a while, I finally admitted defeat and turned off the water. I stood there for a moment, eyeing the mat next to the tub, considering my chances. Reaching out to grab the bar our towels hung on for support, I stepped out of the shower, my still-stiff legs moving jerkily over the side, nearly making me slip.

I groaned. How was I supposed to avoid Quil discovering my escapades when I could hardly move?

* * *

March 28- Quil  
Prompt: 356. Birthday

I felt my mattress sink slightly.

"Rise and shine, birthday boy," Claire called in a sing-song voice.

I grunted. "Claire. It's too early. Can't you at least let me sleep in today of all days?"

A steaming mug waved under my nose, making me wince. "Nope. You've got big plans this morning. Up and at 'em."

I reluctantly took the coffee from her, sitting up. "Plans?"

Claire nodded, hopping off the bed. "Of course. You didn't think we were going to let you just sit around the house on your birthday did you?"

I was about to answer her when something occurred to me. "'We'?" I inquired dubiously.

Claire just smiled mischievously. "Come on. Get dressed. We've got things to do." She winked at me before heading for the door. "People to see."

I shook my head. "That's what I'm afraid of," I muttered.

And with good reason, as I found out twenty minutes later when I emerged from my room, only to find my house filled with the various members of my extended family, all calling our enthusiastic "Happy Birthday!'s" as I attempted to scowl at them.

Sam clapped me on the back. "Thirty-one. How's it feel?"

I growled at him. "I feel old."

Sam grinned. "Join the club."

* * *

March 29- Claire  
Prompt: 203. Frown

I rolled my eyes at Quil's expression. "Come on, you know it doesn't really look bad."

Quil just shook his head. "I still don't understand why we needed it in the first place," muttered for what had to be the hundredth time.

"I told you, we needed more furniture in here." I waved my hand at the living room, which had, just this afternoon, been transformed from a barren wasteland—what Audrey had called it when I told her about buying a chair—into something that vaguely looked like it belonged in a home. "Look how much better it looks like this!"

Quil scowled. "I liked just the couch."

I rolled my eyes again, finally plopping down in our new chair, thoroughly exasperated. "I know. So you've said. A million times."

Quil took his usual seat on the couch, sighing deeply. "See? _This_ is much nicer."

I threw my hands in the air. "Fine. Don't use the chair." I stuck my tongue out at him which, at least, made him replace his frown with a half-smile for an instant. "More time to enjoy it for myself, then."

"Be my guest," Quil said graciously.

"Ugh!"

* * *

March 30- Claire  
Prompt: 162. Daydream

Quil ran his hands through my hair, bending my head back as his mouth traced its way down my neck. I sighed, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying closer to him. This was bliss. It didn't get much better than this.

Well, it _could_, but it wouldn't. Not now, anyway.

Quil's hands splayed across my waist, practically engulfing me in his gentle grip. His mouth moved upward again and met mine, his kiss making my knees weak, just like always. I don't think I could ever get enough of Quil's kiss.

"Claire?"

My English teacher's voice broke through my reverie. I felt my cheeks burn. I needed to stop letting my imagination wander so much in school.

* * *

March 31- Claire  
Prompt: 343. Lion

I stood on the front porch—my favorite place to observe the weather, apparently—and scowled at the fluffy white stuff covering the lawn. "Whatever happened to that 'in with the lion and out with the lamb' crap?" I demanded. I waved a hand at the scene in front of us. "This sure doesn't look like a lamb to me."

Quil laughed. "Maybe they were trying to compare the snow to a lamb's wool."

"Right," I grumbled, reluctantly making my way down the porch steps, keeping a careful eye out for hidden ice. I pulled my jacket more closely to me. "It's a stupid saying, anyway."

* * *

A/N: Being born and raised in Chicagoland—where it has been known to snow mid-April—I concur.

Anyway… Yeah, again, sorry about the wait. :-( But I have a bone to pick with you all, involving _The Experiment._

I believe I kindly asked you all to _not_ take me to 100 reviews. -scowls- When last I checked, my review count was firmly sitting at 100. I didn't want 100. I felt it didn't _deserve _it. Not with that ending. Ugh. 95 was enough to stomach.

I take reviewing very seriously, as you can probably tell. ;-) I work bloody hard for good/numerous reviews. It feels wasteful to reach 100, which _should_ make me ridiculously happy, on something so… disappointing.


	4. April

**April**

April 1- Claire  
Prompt: 116. Fun

I spent the better part of my day looking over my shoulder every other minute.

I made it out of the house and through the school day unscathed. I only stayed in the house long enough to drop my book bag and head for Billy's. I couldn't outrun Quil forever, I knew that from experience. But if I could just avoid him till tomorrow…

Billy was waiting for me when I entered his house. I groaned when I saw his expression. "What broke this time?"

"It's the sink again," Billy informed me, wheeling around to follow me as I headed for the kitchen. "There's no water pressure."

I crossed to kitchen sink. "Well, let's see…" I turned the cold water knob, and a moment later a jet of water hit me in the face. I yelped, batting ineffectively at the faucet, trying to locate the knob again now that I had a steady stream of water in my eyes. I finally managed to turn off the water and turned to see Billy, shaking with laughter. "What the hell?" I bent down to look at the faucet.

I sighed, straightening as I removed the rubber band. "Very mature."

* * *

April 2- Claire  
Prompt: 171. Piano

"_I've never actually owned a piano, but I used to have a picture of one on my wall…"_

I peered over Quil's shoulder at the computer screen. "Isn't that House?"

"Hugh Laurie," Quil corrected me.

"Whatever. Same thing. Why are you watching videos of him on youtube?"

Quil rolled his eyes. "Because, he used to be on this show—"

"Why don't you just watch it on TV?"

"It's British."

"Okay… Still, why are you watching it?"

"Because," Quil said, starting to sound exasperated, "it's funny."

He clicked on another video and we watched it for a few minutes. Finally, I shook my head. "I still don't get it."

Quil just sighed.

* * *

A/N: Haha… I was just watching it myself. :-P It's _A Bit of Fry and Laurie_. I just heard the quote, and it made me think of this prompt.

* * *

April 3- Quil  
Prompt: 011. Baby

"Embry! That's great!" I clapped on the shoulder. "Congratulations. How's it feel to know you're going to be a father?"

Embry looked sheepish. "Kind of scary, to tell you the truth. I can hardly take care of myself."

I chuckled. "It can't be that bad."

"Easy for you to say."

"Anyway, when's Jen due?"

Embry scratched the back of his neck. "Ehm… beginning of September?"

I stared at him. "Embry, that's only five months away."

He shrugged. "Yeah, well…"

"How long exactly have you known this?"

"Only… three months?"

* * *

A/N:-P Not sure how he kept that from the pack, lol.

* * *

April 4- Quil  
Prompt: 330. Brain Freeze

"Hmm," Claire murmured, pointing her spoon at the cup in her hand. "You're missing out. This stuff is _so_ good."

I smiled wryly. "I'm just enjoying watching you eat it," I informed her, shaking my head. We were at the mall, the first time we'd been in awhile, and had discovered that there was a new gelato place. Claire had gotten so excited that it was impossible not to stop.

"Should you be eating that so fast?" I eyed her dubiously as she dipped her spoon in again.

"Hmm," she said again. "I haven't had this since Thanksgiving. Audrey took me to get some in Sacramento." She sighed happily.

I rolled my eyes and watched her continue to eat her gelato at a disturbing rate. Unsurprisingly, about half-way through her cup, Claire's face twisted into a grimace and she groaned. "Told you."

* * *

A/N: Bleh, sorry, that wasn't my best (you can always tell the first prompt I write after a bit of a dry spell by my general displeasure with it,) but I just had pomegranate gelato for the first time a couple days ago. :-) It was fabulous. I fully suggest you all go find some for yourselves. It's a bit weird to eat, but so-o-o-o good. I'm sure other flavors are good, too, considering my friends' reactions to theirs…

* * *

April 5- Claire  
Prompt: 361. Bed

I stretched out, sighing contentedly. I love those mornings when you wake up before the alarm goes off, and you can just lay in bed for a few extra minutes.

I stared at the ceiling, blinking against the early morning light coming through my window. I didn't want to move. I wished I could just spend the rest of the day, laying in my warm bed.

A moment later, my alarm radio went off. I sighed, reaching over to shut it off as I rolled off my bed. I shot it one last longing look before going off to start my morning.

* * *

April 6- Claire  
Prompt: 035. Deception

"Jake?"

Jacob whirled around. "Claire! What are you doing here?"

I dropped my book bag onto the chair. "I live here. What are _you_ doing here?"

Jacob glanced over his shoulder. "I was, er, just helping Quil out with something."

"Ah. Well, don't let me keep you then," I said, starting toward my room. Jake blocked my path. "Now what are you doing?"

He at least managed to look somewhat repentant. "I'm not supposed to let you past."

I gaped at him. "Why?" I tried feebly to look around him, to see whatever it was he was trying to hide from me. Of course it was a futile effort. "What are you guys doing, anyway?"

Jacob sighed. "It's supposed to be a surprise, Claire. Don't ruin it, okay?"

Well, now I was _definitely _interested. "A surprise? For what?"

"Er… your birthday?"

I rolled my eyes. "Jake, my birthday isn't for another five months."

"Half-birthday?"

"That was last month." Before Jacob could try to rack his brains for another excuse, I reminded him, "The next person with a birthday is Jared. In June."

I heard a chuckle, and both Jacob and I turned to see Quil, leaning against the doorway to his bedroom. "Claire, leave Jake alone. He won't tell you."

I shot Quil my most pleading look. "Well, will _you_ tell me, then?"

Quil just shook his head. "Not a chance."

"Hmph."

* * *

April 7- Quil  
Prompt: 257. Searching

I watched her with amusement. "Claire, what are you doing?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin, and whirled around to face me. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. "Nothing. I was just, umm…"

I suppressed a chuckle, moving into my room. "You're not going to find it."

Claire looked at me innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Right. I'm sure."

* * *

April 8- Claire  
Prompt: 299. Lie Awake

It's funny how things hit you all of a sudden. I hadn't thought about it all week. I really hadn't, not once. I hadn't even had a nightmare all week.

I didn't even remember, if you can believe it, until I called my parents after dinner—from the Uleys', of course—and my mother had asked, in that careful Claire-might-explode-any-minute way my parents had adopted, how I was doing.

And then it hit me. Today. Today was the day. It had been a full year since Matt had left me, tied up in that shed, to die.

I curled up on my side, staring at the dark shadows on my wall. No wonder everyone was being extra-nice to me today. Poor Claire, the slightest thing might remind her and set her off.

God, how pathetic.

Sleep started to creep over me, but I fought against it. I didn't want to fall asleep. I felt sure that if I did, the nightmares would return. I didn't want to face them just then.

* * *

April 9- Claire  
Prompt: 028. Late

I rolled over and gazed blurrily at my clock. I blinked twice. It couldn't really be that late, could it? I picked up my alarm clock and held it closer to my face to get a better look.

"_Shit_!" I was out of bed in seconds, rushing to my closet and pulling out the first clothes I laid my hands on. I didn't care if they matched. Hell, right then I didn't even care if I put them on the right way. The bell for first period was going to ring. In three minutes.

I blazed past a blurry-eyed Quil on my way out of my room. He blinked. "Claire?"

"Can't talk!" I called over my shoulder as I grabbed my book bag and raced for the front door. "I'm late!"

I didn't hear Quil's response, but I could've sworn I heard him laughing.

* * *

April 10- Claire  
Prompt: 286. Adrenaline

I stepped out of school, expecting to see Quil waiting for me in the line of cars outside. He had driven me that morning, saying he had things he needed to take care of with his truck.

So, imagine my surprise when, instead of seeing Quil inside his big red truck, I saw Jacob, leaning against his motorcycle, looking for all the world like it was the most natural place for him to be.

He grinned when he saw me, straightening up. "Madame, your chariot awaits," he bowed dramatically, motioning toward his bike.

I just stood there, gaping stupidly at him. "Where's Quil?"

Jake sighed, apparently displeased with my lack of enthusiasm for his theatrics. "Quil is waiting for us. And probably wondering what's taking so long. Here," he said, handing me a helmet—when he got it, I don't know, since I'd never seen Jake use one before—"Wear this. If Quil sees you without it, I'm a dead man."

I took the helmet from him and put it on, surprised at how easily it fit. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Port Angeles." At my shocked expression, Jacob grinned. "You can't tell me you already forgot about your surprise?"

After a moment, I grinned, too, and climbed on the bike behind Jacob. "Hold on tight," he yelled to me as the engine came alive.

I hugged his waist obediently, suddenly feeling nervous and excited all at once. How many times had I begged Jake to take me riding on his motorcycle? A million, it seemed like.

Moments later, we were pulling out of the parking lot, and I soon realized why Jacob loved his bike so much.

It was an adrenaline rush. Pure and simple.

* * *

April 11- Quil  
Prompt: 145. Midnight

"I can't believe you managed to keep this from me," Claire groused. We were on the roof of our hotel. I'd brought her up to look at the view.

I smiled. "I had a little help."

Claire scowled at me, but she couldn't manage it for very long before it turned into a grin. "I think Jacob should consider a career as a security guard."

I chuckled, squeezing her hand as we neared the edge of the roof. I could see the street below us, the street lights twinkling like little stars. I glanced at my watch. "It's 12:01," I announced.

Claire glanced up at me. "So?"

"So…" I said, drawing the word out. I pulled her against my chest, resting my chin on her head. "We made it."

"What do you mean?"

I smiled and turned to kiss the top of her head. "I mean it's April Eleventh." I paused, feeling the familiar tightening in my gut. "It's exactly one year since I found you." I turned her around so I could see her face. "The world hasn't fallen apart. I've been trying my hardest to make you as happy as you deserve to be." I reached up to stroke her cheek. "Sometimes I think I've even succeeded in making you believe you deserve to be that happy."

She didn't answer for a long moment. I searched her gaze, holding my breath, hoping I hadn't said the wrong things.

Finally, Claire wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my chest. "Oh, Quil," she murmured. "I love you."

I smiled, hugging her tightly. "I love you, too, sweetheart."

* * *

April 12- Claire  
Prompt: 032. Sex

Quil caught me looking at him as he came out of the bathroom, clad in his usual undershirt and boxers. He frowned at me. "Claire, go to sleep." He tossed his clothes from earlier in the day over a chair. "It's late. We're checking out in…" Quil squinted at the digital clock on the bedside table. "Six hours."

"I know. Umm," I blushed, trying not to look directly at him. "I was wondering about something."

Quil didn't say anything for a second. "What?"

I fiddled with the coverlet, my cheeks burning. "Well… We're in a hotel…"

"Yeah?"

"For the weekend…"

When I dared to peak up at him, Quil's expression was confused. "With one bed."

After a surprised second, Quil choked out a laugh. "Claire, you're not asking what I think you are?"

I rolled my eyes. "I was just wondering if you'd thought about it."

Quil grinned, leaning over me. "Only every second of the day." He kissed my forehead. "But not tonight."

"Oh." I was looking up at his face, so I didn't see what his hands were doing. I nearly hopped off the bed. "Quil!"

Quil pulled back, grinning. "Go to sleep, Claire." He crossed the room to turn off the light.

I scowled at him. "That wasn't fair."

* * *

April 13- Quil  
Prompt: 239. Rose

"Quil?"

I glanced over the couch to see Claire standing in her doorway. "Yeah?"

"What did you _do?_"

I smiled at her expression. "You found your flowers."

"Are you kidding?" She gaped at me. "My entire room smells like roses."

I grinned, turning back around. "I'm glad you like it."

A minute later, I felt a tiny weight pounce on me. "I love you," she informed me, her lips pressed against my ear.

I pulled her onto my lap. I smiled at her surprised yelp. "I love you, too." I kissed her. "And you're welcome."

* * *

A/N: Ironically, while I was writing this prompt, I was listening to MuggleCast (fabulous Harry Potter podcast) and they were talking about a random reference to roses in the seventh Harry Potter book. You'd be completely awesome if you could find the vague reference (Chapter 13?)

* * *

April 14- Quil  
Prompt: 354. Sunrise

When I emerged from the woods, back from patrol, the sky was just starting to brighten. I blinked when I approached the back porch, seeing Claire sitting there with a mug of coffee in her hands.

"Er… Claire?"

Claire looked up and smiled at me. "Good morning."

I stood at the foot of the porch steps, staring at her. On the back porch. Where Matt had nearly killed her a year ago. "What are you doing?"

"Hmm? Oh, I woke up about an hour ago and didn't feel like going back to sleep." She took a sip from her mug. "There's still some coffee in the pot," she informed me, "if you want some."

I blinked. "Umm…" Claire looked at me questioningly. "You're okay?"

Claire gave me a weird look. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

I smiled. "Never mind."

* * *

April 15- Claire  
Prompt: 159. Feathers

"What is this supposed to be?" I asked, holding up the offending object for Quil's perusal.

Quil glanced at it. "It's a hat."

"A _hat?"_

"Uh-huh. It's Embry's. He must have forgotten it here."

I poked the "hat" dubiously. "Is that _fur?"_

Quil peered more closely at the hat. "I think they're feathers."

"Are you sure he forgot it? I think he left it here on purpose."

Quil laughed, turning away. "Probably. Come to think of it, I think Seth left that hat at Embry's a few months ago."

* * *

A/N: I need to stop listening to podcasts while writing my prompts. No, you don't actually want to know what the reference is. :-P

* * *

April 16- Claire  
Prompt: 029. Kitchen Table

"Hey, Billy?" I called, ducking my head under the table. "What happened to your kitchen table?" I traced the finger-shaped puncture marks in the wood.

Billy rolled up next to me. He chuckled as I came up to look at him. "Jacob happened to it."

I furrowed my brow in confusion. "Jake? When?"

Billy shook his head, a slightly wistful smile on his face. "About fifteen years ago. He'd just gotten a—"

We both nearly jumped out of our skin when Jacob suddenly appeared behind us. "Thanks, Dad, I don't think you need to bring up my ancient history right now."

Billy just rolled his eyes before wheeling himself back toward the living room.

I raised an eyebrow at Jacob. "Let me guess—none of my business?"

"Exactly."

* * *

April 17- Claire  
Prompt: 207. Strength

I rolled over, pulling my blankets closer to my body. "Go 'way," I mumbled.

"Nothing doing," Quil informed me, tugging at my covers. "Time to get up."

"Mmph," I muttered. "Five more minutes."

"Claire," Quil warned me. I stubbornly shut my eyes more tightly and burrowed deeper into my bed. I heard him sigh. "Suit yourself."

A moment later… "QUIL!" I shrieked as lifted me off the bed. I twisted in his arms, but he just kept going. "Put me down!"

"Sure thing." Quil crossed the hall to the bathroom and set me on the linoleum. "There you go."

"Hmph." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I already _know_ you're about a hundred times stronger than me. Do you really have to prove it?"

Quil grinned as he left the bathroom. "Only when it's the only way to get you out of bed in the morning."

* * *

April 18- Claire  
Prompt: 153. Clouds

"How can you _not_ see it?" I demanded.

Quil just shook his head. "I'm telling you, it looks nothing like a rabbit."

"Well, it looks more like a rabbit than a beaver, at least."

Quil snorted and pointed at the sky. "How can you possibly mistake that for anything other than a beaver's tail?"

I rolled my eyes, sitting up on the grass. "Just admit it, Quil. I'm better at finding shapes in the clouds than you are. It's okay."

"Hardly. You can't even tell a beaver-cloud from a rabbit-cloud."

* * *

April 19- Quil  
Prompt: 009. Easter

"Claire, we're going to be late."

"I don't have anything to wear!" Claire called morosely through her bedroom door.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing. "Claire, we're just going to Sam and Emily's. I don't really think anyone's going to be there who cares what you wear." I grinned suddenly. "Besides, you look great in everything you have."

I heard her groan. "You have to say that."

I rolled my eyes. "How about the blue blouse?" I offered.

Claire humphed. "It's in the laundry."

I shook my head. "We're going to be here all night."

"If that's how long it takes…"

* * *

A/N: Less to do with Easter and more to do with… getting ready to go out for Easter? Haha. :-P I didn't particularly want to go the church route, and that's the only Easter tradition I know. ;-) Well, except for this. But this happens to me every holiday.

* * *

April 20- Claire  
Prompt: 342. Clown

"How about this one?" Quil held out a movie to me. We were at the video store, trying, as usual, to find something new to watch for movie night.

I grimaced when I saw the cover. "It has clowns in it."

Quil frowned down at the offending movie in his hands. "Only one."

"Exactly. One murdering clown."

Quil sighed and put the movie back on the shelf. "I thought you wanted to see a scary movie?"

"I do." I started down the aisle again. "Just not one with any clowns."

* * *

A/N: You know _IT_ is rated PG? Seriously. At least, that's what my aunt told me when my (then much younger) cousins somehow conned her into letting them rent it. Weird.

Is it obvious that I'm writing this on very little sleep?

* * *

April 21- Claire  
Prompt: 181. Pull

"How was school?" Quil asked as I climbed into his truck.

I let out a huff. "Ridiculous."

Quil raised an eyebrow at me as he pulled out of the line of cars waiting by the front entrance. "What happened."

"Gym happened."

"…I see…"

I sighed. "They made us play tug-o-war."

Quil choked out a laugh. "And that was bad?"

"Are you kidding?" I held up my arm for him to see the lovely streak of mud that I hadn't been able to wash away. "Guess who won?"

Quil coughed. "I'm sure it wasn't so bad."

"You're absolutely right. It was worse." I slumped down in my seat. "Why does Forks High have to require four years of gym, anyway?"

Quil didn't answer, though when I could have sworn he was trying not to grin.

* * *

April 22- Quil  
Prompt: 072. Shooting Stars

"You should be in bed," I told her, coming to sit on the front porch with her. Not that I didn't want her to be out there with me. I wanted nothing better. I just didn't want her losing too much sleep.

Claire rolled her eyes at me, then leaned against my shoulder. "How often do we get to see a meteor shower? I bet you half the kids at school will be up watching, anyway."

I sighed, though we both knew I had no real intention of making her go inside. But I still couldn't help saying, "Fine, but when you're half-dead tomorrow…"

"You'll say 'I told you so.' Sure, sure." She waved her hand at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "You've been spending too much time with Jacob."

"Probably. Oh!" She pointed at the sky, where the first stream of light was appearing. "Look!"

I did, pulling her against my chest as we watched. A moment later, she was burrowing closer to me and sighing contentedly.

I smiled. It was fully worth every minute.

* * *

April 23- Claire  
Prompt: 185. Shine

I leaned on the mop and eyed Billy dubiously. "Why do I get the feeling you really hired me as a maid?"

"You're the one who offered to wax the floor," Billy reminded me.

I sighed. "Yes, only because if I don't no one else will."

Billy grinned. "That's only because Jake refuses to go anywhere near floor wax."

"Smart boy," I grumbled, going back to work.

* * *

April 24- Claire  
Prompt: 276. West

"What did they call the Old West back in the times when it _was_ the Old West?" I wondered.

Quil shot me a skeptical look. "What are you talking about?"

"The Old West. Think about it. We're so used to referring to it like that that, say, if we were to build a time machine—"

"Because, you know, that sort of thing happens everyday."

"Shut up. But if we _could_ go back to that time, how would we know what to call it?"

* * *

A/N: Am I the only one who's ever wondered this? Yeah, probably. Give me a break, I'm stretching for these direction-prompts. :-P

* * *

April 25- Claire  
Prompt: 338. Imitation

"Katie," I implored the four year old at the table. "Come on. Eat your broccoli."

"Katie," the little brat parroted. "C'mon. Eat broccoli."

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. A second later Katie mimicked my action. "Please stop that."

"Please stop that."

"Katie," I warned.

"Katie," she answered, sounding more authoritative than I could manage.

I looked at Quil. "Seth owes me so much," I informed him.

Quil laughed. "I'm sure he knows." He winked at me. "Look at the bright side: imitation's the highest form of flattery."

"Yeah. Right."

"Yeah, right," Katie echoed helpfully.

* * *

A/N: In case you couldn't get that—Katie's Seth's daughter. XD It's kind of fun throwing those random things in there… especially fifteen years post-canon. Lol.

* * *

April 26- Claire  
Prompt: 345. Windmill

"What are you reading?"

I held up the book to show the cover. "_Don_ _Quixote_."

Quil furrowed his brow. "Isn't that the story about the guy who thought a windmill was a dragon?"

I lowered my book, staring at him. "How did you possibly remember that when you can't remember anything else you learned in high school?"

Quil shrugged. "Things like that kind of stick with you."

"Apparently."

* * *

April 27- Claire  
Prompt: 059. Coat

"I can't believe I have to wear a coat," I complained.

Quil unsuccessfully tried to his smile. "It's not that uncommon."

"Yes, but it's _April_. Lat April at that. It should be nice and warm. Or at least tolerable." I waved a hand around, as though you could actually _see_ the temperature. "_This_ is not warm."

Quil just shook his head and gave me a gentle shove toward his truck. "Have a good day at school, Claire."

* * *

A/N: It snowed two feet in the last week. I'm a little bitter.

* * *

April 28- Claire  
Prompt: 247. Relief

"Claire?" Jacob said with surprise as I burst through his front door.

"Can't talk," I huffed, rushing toward the bathroom.

When I came out, Jake was still chuckling to himself. "You had to go so bad you couldn't make it the extra block home?"

I scowled at him. "Don't make fun of my bladder-control issues."

This only served to make Jake laugh harder. "I wouldn't dream of it," he finally managed.

* * *

A/N: …I couldn't help myself.

* * *

April 29- Quil  
Prompt: 015. Circus

I flipped through the newspaper. "Hey," I said. "The circus is coming to Port Angeles next month."

Claire glanced at me. "So?"

"We should go."

Claire thought about it for a minute. "Will there be clowns?"

I chuckled. "I don't know. Probably. It _is_ the circus, after all." I pretended to read to hide my smile. "I'm sure none of them will be murderous, though."

"Hmph. No thank you."

* * *

April 30- Quil  
Prompt: 229. Perfection

They say nobody's perfect.

I watched Claire sleep, snuggled against my chest on the couch. She was too dramatic. Too stubborn. Too independent—at least wherever it hurt to be too independent. Too everything.

And yet…

And yet I couldn't think of a single person who could ever compare.

Apparently, whoever said that no one's perfect wasn't an imprinting werewolf.

* * *

A/N: I have no idea why this month took so long. I wish I had a good excuse for you all.

On the bright side… I kind of like this chapter, just because it ties up one loose end that I wanted to get out of the way in the first half of the year (the Matt/Claire thing.) I don't think I originally meant for it to work this way, but I've realized I have several sub-plots going on. :-P Embry/Jen, Thursdays with Billy, Jacob's love life, Jacob/Claire (friendship. It's akin to what I suppose a lot of people would have liked Jacob/Bella to be? As in, wholly platonic. Hell, they're practically related, will be eventually (you know, when Quil and Claire tie the knot someday ;-))… and a couple more that I can't mention because a) they don't show up till September at the earliest and, b) some person(s) would be too smart and figure it out if I hinted at it anyway. That takes away some of my fun, you know. ;-)

I did figure out though that December 30 is the last plot-based prompt (166. Stay, in case you want to know for some reason… It's a rare prompt that I actually know the exact day I want to use it for, lol.) So… I suppose the last prompt will be pure fluff? Or humor-fluff. Or something. I like humor-fluff better, just 'cause I don't feel like I absolutely fail at it 98 of the time. ;-) Closer to 68, I think. I'd go lower, but that might be hazardous to my self-esteem.

I think this author's note is longer than some of my actual prompts…

Oh, and y'all are fully getting this month in celebration of the fact that, by the time most of you read this, we'll know the release date for Breaking Dawn. :-D

Side note: You know, in the time it takes me to edit in all the page breaks, I could probably write another prompt. Yeesh.


	5. May

**May**

May 1- Quil  
Prompt: 151. Champion

"It's probably better if you just give up now," I informed her. "I _am_ the checkers champion."

Claire shot me a dubious look as she moved her piece. "Quil, I hate to break this to you, but I've been letting you win for years."

I frowned. "What are you talking about? You've beat me before. Not very much, but you've still beat me."

She shrugged. "Well, yeah. I do have _some _pride."

I just shook my head. "How do you know that _I_ wasn't letting _you_ win?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "Please."

"Fine. We'll both play normal—no letting the other person win."

"Deal."

A few minutes later, Claire had all of my pieces stacked neatly on her end of the board. She smiled at me. "You were saying?"

* * *

May 2- Quil  
Prompt: 297. Red

"Claire?" I called. "Claire, are you here?"

I vaguely recognized the building I was in. It looked like the front lobby of the dorm Claire had visited a little over a month ago. Except that it was disserted now.

"Claire?"

Suddenly, the smell hit me. That horrible, sickly sweet smell. A growl rose in my chest. I turned and froze in horror. "Claire!" I yelled. "What are you—"

Claire turned to smile at me, but I wasn't paying attention. Not to her mouth, anyway.

Her eyes were blood red.

* * *

A/N: Foreshadowing FTW. Well, sort of. That was a dream, of course. He might be overreacting subconsciously just a tiny bit.

* * *

May 3- Claire  
Prompt: 327. Office

I made a face at him as we approached the front door. "Why can't you have a normal office job like most men?"

Quil grinned. "Who wants to work in an office when you can run around as a wolf?" He silenced whatever argument I was about to think of with a quick kiss. "Don't stay up."

I humphed. "I bet I could sleep much more easily if you were here." I cracked a smile despite myself.

Quil just laughed. "I completely agree." He gave me another quick kiss before heading out the door. "Take it up with Sam."

"I will!" I called after him.

I could still hear him chuckling as he headed for the trees.

* * *

May 4- Claire  
Prompt: 241. Forsake

"_Deny thy father, and refuse my name…"_

I peered at Jacob. "You're not _actually_ watching this, are you?"

Jacob sighed, shooting me a look. "Isn't that what you wanted me here for?"

I paused. "Well… yeah…"

"To watch a movie, since Quil's refused to ever watch _Romeo and Juliet_ ever again?"

I sighed. "Yes, but you don't have to actually _enjoy_ it."

Jake chuckled. "Sorry."

* * *

May 5- Claire  
Prompt: 177. Grow

I stretched up on my tip toes, half perched on the counter and half on the edge of a cabinet. My fingers reached feebly for the object above my head.

I let out a huff. "Quil!" I called.

Quil appeared in the kitchen a moment later. His eyes opened in surprise when he saw my position. "Claire, what are you doing?" He reached me in half a step and lifted me off the counter like I weighed nothing. Which, I guess, compared to him, I did.

I turned to face him. "Did you put the coffee on the top shelf?"

"Er…" Quil scratched the back of his neck. "I might have done that," he admitted sheepishly.

I sighed. I pointed over my head. "Well?"

Quil let out an exasperated sigh and reached up to grab the bag of coffee. "I was kind of hoping I'd be out when you found it."

I took the coffee from him, snorting. "Nice try."

* * *

May 6- Quil  
Prompt: 018. Storm

I cracked open one eye. "Claire," I murmured, lifting my arm as she crawled close to my side on the bed. "What's wrong?"

She buried her head in my chest. "Nothing," she mumbled.

"Claire," I prodded, poking her lightly in the ribs. I smiled at her startled squeak.

She sighed. "It's storming," she informed me. As if to prove her point, there was suddenly a loud clap of thunder, loud enough that I could feel the house shake from it. Claire burrowed closer to me.

I chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "Born and raised in Washington, but afraid of a thunderstorm." I just shook my head.

"Mmph." Claire started to sit up, but I pulled her back down.

"I didn't say I was _complaining_ about it."

* * *

May 7- Claire  
Prompt: 352. Sand

There's nothing quite like walking on the beach at night. Sand between your toes, the stars and moon shining down on you—well, if the night's clear, anyway. It wasn't, but it doesn't really matter—holding the hand of the person you love.

Long walks on the beach. It's so cliché, it's virtually lost all of its romance.

Or at any rate, that's easy to say. Unless you happen to be doing it.

The only problem? When sand gets everywhere and your aforementioned beloved offers to help you wash off. In the ocean.

* * *

May 8- Claire  
Prompt: 080. Money

I scowled. "How can graduation cost so much money? I'm not even getting the announcements, and it's costing me a fortune."

Quil glanced at the brochure in my hands, raising his eyebrows. "That's just for your cap and gown?"

"Uh-huh." I shook my head. "Is it really even necessary to get the cap? I mean, I'm probably going to end up losing it, anyway."

Quil smirked. "I have a feeling they're a package deal."

I groaned.

* * *

May 9- Quil  
Prompt: 246. Walls

"How are we supposed to paint a baby's room if we don't even know what it is?" Jacob asked.

I perused the wall in front of us, as though it would somehow yield an answer. "I'm pretty sure it'll be human, Jake."

Jacob shot me a look. "Mostly," I amended.

He sighed. "Can't we just ask Embry?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Jen said she doesn't want to know the gender till the baby's born. If we go painting the baby's room pink or blue, don't you think she'd figure it out?"

We continued to stare at the blank wall. Finally, Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. He held it out, looking at me. "Heads or tails?"

* * *

A/N: Beats me what Embry was thinking leaving them alone.

* * *

May 10- Claire  
Prompt: 332. Spice

I clutched at my throat. "Water," I gasped.

Embry handed me a glass, looking worried. "Too much spice?"

It took me a minute to answer because I was too busy chugging down my water as fast as humanly possible. Finally, I said, "What the hell did you put in there?"

Embry shot me a guarded look. "Claire. You know I can't disclose my stew recipe."

"Stew?" I stared at him incredulously. "Is that what you call it? It's more like a fire hazard."

Embry rolled his eyes. "You have no appreciation for fine cooking, Claire, really."

"If by 'fine cooking' you mean 'towering inferno,' then no, I don't."

* * *

May 11- Claire  
Prompt: 199. Boat

"It's late," I informed him, climbing into his truck. "Aren't you the one who's always telling me that I need to get more sleep on school nights?"

Not that I was really complaining, of course.

Quil just grinned at me before shutting my door and going around to the driver's side. "Trust me," he said, starting the truck and pulling out of our driveway. "You'll thank me later."

I rolled my eyes at him, and tried to hide my smile by looking out my window instead of directly at him. Finals and graduation were only two and a half weeks away. To be honest, Quil could take me anywhere he wanted, as long as it didn't involve textbooks.

I raised an eyebrow, though, when he turned off the main road onto a bumpy gravel one. I shot him a look. "Where exactly _are_ we going?"

Quil sighed. "Claire, just enjoy the surprise, okay?" I humphed. He rolled his eyes. "Have I ever surprised you with something you didn't end up liking?"

I shifted on the seat. "No," I finally conceded.

"Then just trust me."

After about ten minutes Quil stopped the truck. "We're here," he announced, getting out.

I followed after him. "Where exactly is 'here?'" All I could see were dark trees, and a narrow path.

Quil came around the truck, carrying something I couldn't make out in the dark—the trees were blocking most of the moonlight—and took my hand. "Come on," he said, tugging me along down the path.

It was a relatively short walk before we reached the lake. I sucked in a breath. "Oh, Quil, it's _gorgeous_," I breathed. And it was. As soon we'd cleared the thickest part of the trees, the moon shone through, glancing off the lake like liquid silver.

He chuckled, leading me toward the row boat at the dock. "Told you that you'd like it."

"Don't gloat," I admonished him half-heartedly, though I was grinning widely. "Where'd you get the boat?"

Quil chuckled again. "I've always had it. It used to be my grandfather's." He handed me into the boat, then followed after untying the rope from the dock. I finally saw what he'd grabbed from the truck—a picnic basket. "I don't use it much. Mostly I just lend it to Billy and Charlie Swan when they want to go fishing." He took hold of the oars, facing me now, and grinned at me. "I'd been thinking I should just give it to them, but then I wouldn't have it for nights like this."

"Very smart of you," I observed, reaching over to peak into the basket.

Quil laughed. "I try."

* * *

A/N: Steph's had writer's block like nobody's business. But, whilst rereading _Eclipse_, I realized that Billy and Charlie had borrowed a boat from Old Quil the day the pack and the Cullens were fighting the newborns. Very convenient for me, since I was wondering how to work in this prompt. ;-)

* * *

May 12- Claire  
Prompt: 064. Animals

I watched them with disgust. "How can you _eat _that?"

Paul reached his fork towards my plate. "You going to finish that?" he asked. At least, I _think_ that's what he was asking. It was kind of hard to tell when there was so much food in his mouth.

"Be my guest," I said, shoving my plate toward him.

Jacob made a face, but bravely took another bite. "It's not that bad," he told me, though the effect was kind of lost by the fact that his face was already beet red.

I looked to my left, where Quil and Jared were hurriedly scarfing down their dinner. And here I'd thought they were the saner of the bunch.

"You really should have some, Claire," Jen told me, folding her hands primly over her ever-growing belly. "He'll be hurt if he thinks you don't like it."

"Then why aren't _you_ having any?"

"Because," Jen said, not changing her tone or expression one bit, "I'm pregnant, I'm nauseous, and I don't want to run the risk of our baby coming out a mutant."

As if on cue, Embry appeared, ominous-looking pot in hand. "Who's up for more stew?"

We all groaned.

* * *

May 13- Claire  
Prompt: 130. Watch

I tapped my foot impatiently as Quil pulled up in front of me. "Sorry," he muttered when I opened the door and started climbing inside. "We lost track of time."

I nodded, gazing out the window as he started to pull away. "You really need to invest in a watch."

"Claire…"

"I know. It's okay. Being a werewolf has to come first sometimes." I couldn't look at him. I really didn't want him to see how upset I actually was.

I heard him sigh. "Claire, you know that isn't true."

I made a non-committal sound, staring resolutely out the window. It wasn't really that he was late—_half an hour_ late, later than he ever was. It was that I didn't know where he was, or _why_ he was late. A hundred scenarios ran through my head while I waited for him, each one worse than the one before it. It wasn't like I didn't know that Quil could take care of himself. But sometimes things just _happen. _

I didn't like the feelings that thought caused. Not at all.

We drove the rest of the way home in an uncomfortable silence.

* * *

May 14- Claire  
Prompt: 025. Argument

I could practically feel Billy's eyes boring into the back of my head. It was just be my imagination, I assured myself. I was jumpier than usual, like I always was after an argument with Quil. I was probably just imagining things.

Billy cleared his throat. "You know, you don't have to do that," he said, indicating the groceries I was putting away for him. "If I can get it all out, I think I can put it where it belongs."

"I don't mind."

There was a brief pause. "Don't you want to head home? You probably haven't seen Quil all day."

I sighed. Okay, so maybe I _wasn't_ imagining things. I knew Billy's you're-doing-it-wrong voice anywhere. "I can manage a little longer," I told him.

Billy finally sighed. "Claire, Jake told me you and Quil had a fight."

I turned, opening my mouth to demand just how _Jacob_ knew anything about it when it dawned on me. Of course. "Let me guess. Quil was thinking about it on patrol last night."

"Something like that."

I turned back to groceries on the counter. "I can handle this myself, Billy. I don't need advice."

I saw him purse his lips as I turned to put the milk in the refrigerator. "He loves you," he said blatantly.

I groaned. "I know. Why does everyone always say that like it puts an end to all arguments?"

He didn't answer. He didn't really have to. Because for most it _did_ put an end to all arguments. At least when you were dealing with imprinting werewolves.

* * *

May 15- Claire  
Prompt: 106. Make-up

I was exhausted. It had been a horrible week. Well, the _beginning_ had been wonderful, but the last couple of days destroyed whatever happy feelings I had leftover from Monday night on the lake.

I stumbled into my bedroom, fully prepared to fall into bed fully clothed, when I smelled them. My eyes opened wider—they were barely half closed by this point—and I almost laughed. He knew me too well. If flowers didn't make everything better, they at least came damn close.

Heat enveloped me as Quil wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. I leaned my head against his broad shoulder, closing my eyes. "Thank you," I whispered. I was tired. Too tired to argue anymore, and too tired of being without my usual comfort.

Quil leaned his chin on my shoulder. "You _always_ come first," he murmured, kissing my cheek. "No matter what." His arms tightened around me slightly. "I'm sorry about being late," he said softly. "And I'm sorry for worrying you so much."

I looked at him, surprised. I hadn't said anything about being worried.

Quil chuckled at my expression. "I figured it out eventually." He smiled slightly at me. "I know you too well."

I laughed, too, a little. "I'm sorry for being mad," I said after a moment, reaching up to trace his features. "And I'm sorry for giving you the silent treatment."

Quil kissed me again, smiling fully now. "Apology accepted."

* * *

May 16- Quil  
Prompt: 204. Choking

"I'm going for a run," Claire called as she passed the kitchen where Embry and I were scarfing down cereal—it wasn't like he didn't have any at his house. He said seeing me it made _him_ hungry, apparently.

"Okay—" I glanced up and immediately started coughing. Embry whacked me on the back with a little too much enthusiasm. "You're not wearing that," I finally gasped out.

Claire looked down at herself, a confused expression on her face. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing? Lots of people wear stuff like this to go running."

"You're midriff's showing."

Claire rolled her eyes and headed for the door. "Just barely, Quil. It's fine."

* * *

May 17- Claire  
Prompt: 324. Normal

"What are they _doing_ over there?" Audrey demanded.

I winced as another crash sounded from the living room. I moved farther away from the door, vainly hoping that would decrease the noise my sister could hear through the phone. "I think they're wrestling."

"Are you sure? It sounds like they're trying to bring the house down."

I snorted. "Trust me, this is normal behavior for them."

"You guys have a weird definition of 'normal.'"

* * *

May 18- Quil  
Prompt: 123. Breathing

We were stretched out on the couch. The movie we'd been watching had long since ended, and Claire had fallen asleep against me at least an hour ago. My arm was falling asleep, but I wasn't ready to move just yet.

I lay there, propped against the couch's armrest, content to just watch her. I could see her eyelids twitching as she dreamed, a pleased smile on her beautiful mouth. Selfishly, I hoped she was dreaming of me. She was certainly all I ever dreamed about.

I should put her to bed, I knew. I didn't want her to be uncomfortable. But still I couldn't bring myself to move. It was soothing, just being able to lie here and watch her, listening to her breathe.

* * *

May 19- Quil  
Prompt: 067. Street

"Wait!" I threw my arm out, blocking Claire's progress. "Give it a minute."

Claire shot me a dubious look as the car passed us. "Quil, we could have easily crossed."

I scowled at her. I knew my over protectiveness frustrated her sometimes, but I really couldn't help myself. Just the thought of something having the chance to hurt her caused me agony.

Claire sighed, exasperated, as a long line of cars started past us. Forks didn't have many busy streets, but it could get bad during rush hour sometimes. Well, it was bad enough to make _me_ nervous, anyway, when Claire was with me.

When she started forward again, I nearly had a heart attack. "Wait!"

She rolled her eyes. "Quil, no one's even coming now." Claire waved a hand at the now empty street.

I glanced both ways sheepishly. She was right. "Er… I knew that."

* * *

May 20- Claire  
Prompt: 310. Whipped Cream

"More," I ordered.

Quil rolled his eyes but complied. "You're worse than a werewolf," he informed me, setting the can down on the table.

I shrugged. "Everyone has something they can't get enough of. For me, it's whipped cream. For you, it's… everything else." I picked up my spoon and dug into my sundae which was by this point completely covered in whipped cream.

I didn't see, but I'm sure Quil rolled his eyes. "Whatever makes you happy."

* * *

May 21- Claire  
Prompt: 073. Comfort

"What are you doing out here?" I climbed the steps of the front porch, taking a seat on the top step.

"Waiting for you," Jake answered. He wore an expression on his face I'd seen too many times before.

I sighed. "You could've just come by Billy's, you know. I've been there all afternoon."

"I know."

He didn't say anything else. I waited a beat, then offered, "You wanna come inside?" I glanced pointedly at the darkening sky. "It's going to rain again."

"I know that, too."

After a minute, it was rather obvious that he wasn't going to start talking on his own. I sighed again. "What's wrong, Jacob?"

"Amy broke up with me."

"Oh." Jacob had finally managed to find a girl who wanted to go out with him on more than three dates. It had seemed like a mini-miracle.

"Yeah. Oh." His voice was resigned, tired. I'd never heard him like this before. Jake pinched the bridge of his nose, grimacing. "I think I'm going to give up on dating for awhile," he announced.

I nodded, tentatively reaching over and rubbing his back, trying to soothe my ever-tortured friend. He tensed, then finally relaxed under my touch, letting out a long sigh. "Maybe it's for the best, anyway," I hedged. "You wouldn't want someone to get attached and then have you end up imprinting on someone else." I was thinking of Leah, and all the stories Quil had told me about her and Sam. But at least she'd found her imprint eventually.

Jake snorted. "Not going to happen," he informed me.

I shot him an exasperated look. "You can't know that."

"Of course, because there are practically new people coming into La Push _everyday._"

"You don't _have_ to stay around La Push, you know," I pointed out. "I don't think Sam would throw a fit if you took a short trip or two."

Jacob didn't say anything to that, and he looked away from me.

I knew better by now then to push him when he got like this, so I just stood up. I patted him of the shoulder. "Something has to work out eventually. Don't worry so much about it."

Jake nodded, though I don't think he was actually paying attention to what I said. "Thanks, Claire," he said, standing up, too.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "For what?"

He shrugged, and offered me a grin. Now I was really confused. This was _not_ the sort of behavior I was used to from Jacob. "For putting up with me, I guess." He started down the porch steps, waving back at me. "I'll see you later."

If I live to be one hundred, I will never understand Jacob Black.

* * *

A/N: Amen, sister.

I think that has to be my longest drabble yet. And I felt like throwing some foreshadowing in early, to get y'all thinking. ;-)

* * *

May 22- Claire  
Prompt: 155. Fade

I leaned over one of our photo albums. "Our old pictures are starting to fade," I complained.

"Already?" Quil came to stand behind me, looking over my shoulder. "They're already fading? I didn't think pictures did that after only fifteen years."

"It doesn't help that Embry had his thumb over the lens half the time."

Quil chuckled. "True."

"Or," I added, sending him an amused glance as I turned a particularly wrinkled photo, "the time you dropped the picture envelope into the lake."

Quil coughed. "I don't remember that."

* * *

May 23- Claire  
Prompt: 161. Music

"QUIL!"

I heard Quil's booming laugh from somewhere above me. "Guys, knock it off. No more making Claire into a pancake."

Brady and Collin reluctantly let me up. I glared at Paul who, even though he hadn't been a part of the let's-squish-Claire-out-of-existence activities, was shaking so hard with laughter that the couch was vibrating.

And these three wondered why they were still single.

"Where's Jake?" I asked, once I could breathe properly again. "I thought it couldn't be 'Singles Night' without him."

It was a long standing tradition that, once a year, the single members of the pack escaped the looming shadow of their imprinting brothers—and sister—for a night of shameless self-pity and overeating.

Granted, Quil wasn't single anymore, but no one really wanted to take the "party" elsewhere, considering what the choices were.

Paul reached out for one of the bags of chips that were lying out. "He said something about having better things to do then to mope around with the rest of us."

"Speaking of Jacob," Brady said, "What'd you do to him, Claire, anyway?"

"What are you talking about? Hey," I slapped Colin's hand away from the food. "Leave some for me, okay?" He just rolled his eyes.

"I have no idea. He spent the entire time on patrol the past couple of days blocking us out by singing 'Yellow Submarine'—" we all grimaced. Jake was going through a Beatles phase, and just about everyone in La Push was suffering for it. Not that there was anything wrong with the Beatles. It's just that Jacob insisted on playing the most annoying songs, _loud,_ over and over again—"and the only thing that got through was your name a couple times."

I shrugged. "I don't know what that's about." To change the subject, I looked pointedly at a certain piece of furniture. "Is there a reason why no one's using the new chair?"

Colin coughed. "Quil threatened us if we did." Quil whacked him on the back of the head. "Hey!"

I ended up calling it a night before the rest of them. As I made my way back to my room, though, I heard Brady say, thinking I was out of earshot, "You don't think Jacob's—"

"I doubt it," Quil answered. There was a pause. "We would've heard about it before now, I think."

* * *

A/N: This drabble was really just me giving written form to random werewolf-related speculation I've been doing lately, that has no real significance with this story. :-P

* * *

May 24- Claire  
Prompt: 292. Ugly

I made a face. "Absolutely not."

Quil looked down at the shirt in his hands. "What's wrong with this one?"

"It's ugly."

Quil sighed, putting the shirt back on the rack. "You've said that about the last three shirts I've picked out."

"I know. I was hoping that by now you'd get the hint to let _me_ pick out your clothes."

He followed me as we continued through the store. "What's wrong with the clothes I've picked out?" he demanded.

"Quil, I don't care how much you apparently like the color, you do _not_ look good in burnt orange."

* * *

May 25- Quil  
Prompt: 055. Poor

"That's it," Claire announced, entering the living room, "we're officially poor." She dropped a bundle of clothes on my lap.

I raised an eyebrow at her, poking at the ugly yellow thing she'd deposited on me. "What's this supposed to be?"

"Your retirement fund, next mortgage payment, and next month's grocery bill," she informed me primly, plopping down in the chair. "Also known as my graduation gown."

* * *

May 26- Claire  
Prompt: 230. Language

"Are you actually watching Spanish soap operas?"

"Yes."

"But you don't _speak_ Spanish."

Quil waved vaguely at the television. "Drama is a universal language. I can understand the concept."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh-huh. So, what are the main characters' names?"

Quil just stared at me blankly.

"That's what I thought."

* * *

May 27- Claire  
Prompt: 120. Life

"Crap," I muttered, looking down at my choices.

"What's the matter?" Quil asked, putting the other cards back in the box.

"I got the 'Dutch Colonial' and the 'Tudor,'" I grumbled.

"What's wrong with those? They're good houses."

I sighed. "I wanted to split-level."

"You wanted the house built on a fault line?"

"Uh-huh."

"The one that's literally _split in half?_"

"Yeah, that one."

Quil rolled his eyes. Then he grimaced when he saw the look I was giving him. "Claire, that's cheating. I'm not supposed to do that."

"_Please,_ Quil?"

He sighed. "Fine." Quil reached back into the box and sorted through the cards until he got to the one marked 'Split Level' and handed it to me. "No wonder no one else ever wants to play this game with you."

* * *

A/N: :-) Haha, I always want the split level, too, when I play _Life._ XD Is that weird?

* * *

May 28- Claire  
Prompt: 290. Song

Billy grimaced. "Oh, no. He's at it again."

"What's wrong?"

"Can't you hear it?" He motioned for me come closer to the window.

As I approached, I tried to listen carefully. Suddenly, I grimaced, too. Yep, there it was.

"_We all live in a yellow submarine…"_May 29- Quil  
Prompt: 334. Soda

* * *

I couldn't help but laugh at the perplexed look on Claire's face as she climbed into my truck. "What's wrong?"

"I went to the vending machine in the cafeteria," she informed me, "and got this." She held up the bottle of Mountain Dew she was holding.

"Yeah?"

"I didn't press the button for regular Mountain Dew. I pressed the button for Mountain Dew _Code Red._ This is what came out."

I shrugged. "Someone must have just put it in the wrong place. That's happened before, hasn't it?"

"Sure it has. But yesterday when I tried the same thing, I got Mountain Dew Livewire instead."

* * *

A/N: -cough- Yeah, this keeps happening to me.

* * *

May 30- Claire  
Prompt: 024. Books

Quil quirked an eyebrow at me as I came through the front door. "Your trip to Port Angeles was successful, I take it?"

"Yep," I answered, dropping my bags on the couch and plopping down next to them.

Quil came over and glanced inside one of the bags, chuckling. "Considering how much you were griping about the cost of graduation, I'm surprised you decided to buy new books so soon."

I waved my hand at him. "We won't be able to eat for the next three months, but it was so worth it."

* * *

A/N: _I_ bought _The Host_ today. :-P It was indeed worth it. Every penny. Well, at least the first eighteen pages have been worth it so far. You see my dedication? I've been sitting here, laboring to finish this month rather than read.

* * *

May 31- Quil  
Prompt: 030. Mowing the Lawn

Claire looked up from her seat on the porch as I came outside. She burst out laughing at the grimace on my face. "There's no more avoiding it, is there?"

I sighed. "Nope." I started for the garage.

The first day it wasn't raining in a week and I was going to spend it with our antiquated lawn mower.

To quote Claire: Joy.

* * *

A/N: My vast apologies. Seriously, I had every intention of this month going so much faster than it did. On the bright side (if it can really be called that,) we've pretty much caught up so that the actual month, and the last month I've written are the same! Woo!

A random note on the weather in this story: Someone pointed out to me that it doesn't snow nearly as often as I make it. Well, I was speaking to a friend of mine who lives near Seattle last month, and she told me that it was snowing. In April. :-P So, if it can realistically snow in the area around Seattle in April 2008, then it can snow in La Push, some four hours outside of Seattle according to MapQuest (yes, I looked it up,) on March 31, 2019. All further complaints about my creative license with the weather, please take up with your local weatherman, and also please keep in mind that I'm never particularly serious.

Anyway… I had rather a lot of fun with this month, considering how long it took me. May is apparently the Month of Foreshadowing. And be prepared to be seeing quite a lot of Jacob in the second half of the year. I think you actually see more of Jacob than you see of Quil. O.o At least in, say, October and November, anyway. At any rate, I highly suggest keeping May 21 in mind in any further Jake-dealings for the rest of the story. :-P Even if it doesn't become remotely important until late September at the earliest.


	6. June

**June**

June 1- Claire  
Prompt: 158. Clock

I stared at the clock, trying to suppress the urge to tap my pencil on my desk. I _hated_ finals week. Somehow, they always managed to schedule the easiest final for the last part of the school day. I'd finish in no time, and then have to sit and wait until the bell would finally ring, freeing me from the monotony.

I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes. Only twenty more minutes, then I was free. I'd taken the truck this morning, too, so I didn't even have to worry about waiting for Quil today. Just twenty more minutes, then the short time it would take me to make it to my locker and out to the parking lot, and…

After a bit, I cracked open one eye to glance back at the clock again. I barely suppressed a groan. It had only been two minutes.

* * *

June 2- Claire  
Prompt: 306. Morning Breath

"Claire."

"Mmph," I mumbled, pulling the pillow over my head. "Go away."

I heard him sigh. "Claire, you have to get up, or you'll be late." He poked at my side mercilessly. I squirmed, but still refused to budge.

"I don't want to go."

"Yes, you do," he insisted, pulling at the pillow. It pulled away easily. Stupid werewolf strength. "If you don't show up, you'll fail your exams."

"I can live with that."

Quil chuckled. "Yeah, well, I don't think your parents will be able to. Come on, get up." When I still wouldn't move, he sighed again. "You asked for it." A moment later I felt a gush of hot air blow into my face.

I jumped up, batting at him. "Quil! Gross! Your breath stinks!"

He just grinned, helping me out of bed. "Yeah, but it got you up, didn't it?"

I glared at him. "That wasn't fair."

* * *

June 3- Quil  
Prompt: 344. Tiger

I watched her dubiously. "Is this really necessary?"

"I managed to survive finals, and you said I could pick what we watched," Claire reminded me, putting the movie in and returning to the couch. "And it isn't _The Princess Bride_ or _Romeo and Juliet_, so you really can't complain."

I sighed. "Fine, fine. Whatever makes you happy." I settled back into the couch, ready to receive the torture.

The next thing I remembered hearing was _"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" _

I blinked. "We can't be at this part already."

Claire rolled her eyes at me. "You fell asleep."

* * *

June 4- Claire  
Prompt: 098. Hear

"Hey!" Jacob appeared from behind the Rabbit as the music stopped. "I was listening to that!"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yes, I know. All of La Push knows you were listening to that." I handed him the piece of paper I'd come by to give him.

"What's this?"

"A petition. The citizens of La Push kindly request that you never play another Beatles song loud enough to be heard within ten feet of the garage so long as you live."

Jake raised any eyebrow at me, but he grinned. "Has it been that bad?"

"You have no idea." I shuddered. "I won't be able to get some of those songs out of my head for _months._"

* * *

June 5- Quil  
Prompt: 103. Hate

I growled. "Claire," I warned.

"Come on, just try it out for a bit," Claire begged. "You can't hate it forever. Come on, it's almost been three months already."

I drummed my fingers on the armrest for a full five seconds before standing up. "Okay, I tried it."

"No, no, no," Claire insisted, stepping in front of me with her hands on her hips. "You are going to _sit_ there until you two make nice, understand?"

I reluctantly sat back down in the chair. "You _do_ know it's not a person, right?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

* * *

June 6- Quil  
Prompt: 214. Sidewalk

"Look what I found."

I peered over Claire's shoulder. "Sidewalk chalk?" I asked, amused. The garage was getting yet another make-over, at Claire's insistence. It seemed like all of our junk—and all of the pack's junk in general, because I could have sworn that Raggedy Anne I found belonged to Katie Clearwater—naturally migrated there.

Claire opened the tub, peering inside. "I don't think I've seen this since I was five or six, at least."

"Hmm," I murmured, eyeing the tub in her hands. I wondered what my chances of hiding it again before she covered the entire street in chalk doodles were.

Not very good, it seemed. Claire turned and started out of the garage. "The rest can wait awhile, don't you think?"

"Claire, you're too old for that stuff," I called after her half-heartedly.

"You're never too old for chalk!" She called back to me.

* * *

A/N: True that.

* * *

June 7- Quil  
Prompt: 188. Wrong

"Claire," I sighed. "You're supposed to be in bed."

"So are you," she murmured. Her arms were around my waist and she was looking up at me innocently. "We could go together."

I let out a choked laugh. "_I_ just got in," I told her, avoiding her last sentence. Getting waylaid by Claire in the middle of the night did things to me that I didn't need to be thinking about right then. "And _you_ are graduating in the morning." I gently, reluctantly, removed her arms from around me and steered her toward her room.

"You could just _say_ you don't want to," she grumbled, but she did start for her room. I didn't feel too bad, though. Pre-graduation jitters didn't make for a good reason to lose your virginity. She'd have figured that one out in the morning.

"Believe me," I told her, "I _want_ to." I always wanted to. Aside from the very real temptation of living under the same roof as her all the time, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to be a thirty-one year old virgin. Even Jacob—

I grimaced inwardly. Jacob wasn't the person I wanted to be thinking about right then—though he was probably my safest option, considering what Claire thought she wanted—especially not when he was doing nothing but confusing everyone lately, and then going AWOL tonight…

I shook my head. "Not now, and not before you're ready," I said firmly.

* * *

A/N: "Even Jacob." Those two words have to be the most I've _ever_ wanted to think about Jake's sex life. Outside of my own fantasies, of course.

* * *

June 8- Claire  
Prompt: 313. Panic

"I can't find my gown!"

"Claire, it's in the hall closet where you put it a week ago."

"I can't possibly graduate."

"Of course you can."

"What if I trip?"

Quil rolled his eyes. "You're not going to trip."

"How do you _know_?" I demanded. "I could accidentally step on my graduation gown, fall flat on my face in front of everyone—"

"Claire, you'll be fine."

"But what if—"

Quil looked at the clock over the stove. "If we don't leave now, you won't make it in time to graduate at all."

"Fine. Let's go." I started for the door, feeling a bit like I was walking toward my doom.

* * *

June 9- Claire  
Prompt: 240. Picture

"See?" Quil asked. "After all that worrying, they _still_ let you graduate."

I rolled my eyes. He'd been saying things like this all night. Somewhere after midnight my graduation party had had to move inside to Sam and Emily's, so now we were all crowded throughout the various corners of their house. Do you know how _hot_ it could get with that many werewolves in such a small space? Even if Seth and Embry had already left, taking their respective families with them, that still left eight other giant walking space heaters.

Well, seven giant walking space heaters, actually. One was conspicuously absent.

"Just barely," I said to Quil. "I—What's wrong?" I turned to follow Quil's gaze. I grinned. Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. "Jake!"

Jacob was making his way toward me. "There's the grad!" He grinned down at me, but when he looked over my shoulder at Quil, his expression was perplexed. I glanced back at Quil in time to catch his concerned frown before his face smoothed over into an expressionless mask. Quil quickly excused himself.

"What was that about it?" I turned to look back at Jake questioningly.

He shrugged. "I have no idea. But hey, I got something for you." He pulled out a bulky package. He smiled sheepishly. "It's not really as big as it looks," he explained, handing it to me. "I'm just not very good at wrapping presents."

"Thanks a lot." I was about to open it when Quil appeared at my elbow again.

"We have to go," he said. I stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "It's late," he reminded me, looking uncomfortable.

"Sure." I was still confused, but I figured I'd ask Quil about it later. "See you later, Jake."

We quickly said goodbye to everyone before heading home. It wasn't till I was back in my bedroom that I remembered to open Jacob's gift.

It took me a minute to realize what it was, but when I figured it out, I laughed. Jake had dug up and framed the old picture from Jared and Kim's wedding, the one where I was standing on the tops of his feet while he danced us around.

* * *

A/N: I must say, I do love Jacob's gifts. :-P Wait'll you see what he gives her for Christmas. Though by then it'll make a tad more sense.

* * *

June 10- Claire  
Prompt: 296. Sigh

"What is going on with everyone lately?"

Quil blinked at me. "What to you mean?"

I shook my head, closing the front door behind me. "I was just at Sam and Emily's," I told him. "I swear everyone over there's about to jump out of their skin."

Quil chuckled. "You probably just managed to catch them at the wrong time. It probably doesn't have anything to do with you."

I blinked at him. "I wasn't thinking it was." He didn't say anything. I let out a long sigh. "It's not just them, either. I wish that if everyone was going to suddenly decide to go crazy, they could at least make sure I got the memo."

* * *

June 11- Quil  
Prompt: 047. Pineapple

I stiffened when I saw him approach.

"Relax, Quil," Jacob said, bounding up the porch steps. "I come with a peace offering." He held out the thing that he'd been holding behind his back.

"Your peace offering is a _pineapple?_" I asked incredulously, though I had to laugh despite myself. Whatever was going on with Jake, it couldn't take away from a lifelong friendship. Not for very long, anyway.

Jacob shrugged. "Billy's cleaning out the fridge. This was the best I could save."

* * *

June 12- Claire  
Prompt: 337. Loud

_BANG!_

I rushed out of my room. "What was _that?"_

Quil was standing next to the chair in the living room, looking slightly sheepish. "Nothing."

I eyed him skeptically. "Quil, what were you trying to do to the chair?"

"Nothing! Honest!" He offered me his most innocent look. I returned it with my own dubious one. He sighed. "I was just _trying_ to move it a little so it faced the TV better, I swear."

I looked at the scene in front of me doubtfully. It _looked_ enough like that was what he had been doing… "So what was the loud noise from, then?"

"Er… I might have set it down a little too hard."

I rolled my eyes and started for my bedroom again. "Just try not to break anything, okay?"

* * *

June 13- Claire  
Prompt: 034. Naked

"Embry!" I cried, covering my eyes. "What are you _doing?"_

I couldn't see his expression, but I was pretty sure Embry was blushing as red as I was. "I, umm, well, see, I kind of phased with my clothes on, and Jen's mom's over at my house right now—"

"You walked into my house _naked?"_

"I came in through the back door," he said defensively, as though that made everything better. "Quil said I could borrow some of his clothes."

I pointed in the general direction of Quil's bedroom, keeping my eyes tightly shut. "Well, go get them. _Fast."_

"Er… right," he mumbled, embarrassed.

I didn't open my eyes again until I heard Quil chuckle behind me. "He's gone, you know."

I opened my eyes tentatively, relieved to find an Embry-less kitchen once again. I shuddered. "I'm never going to be able to get that image out of my mind. _Ever."_

* * *

June 14- Claire  
Prompt: 115. Leather

Quil groaned. "Claire, it's the third time we've passed this store. You can't want to go inside it _again._"

"Just keep going, I'll catch up with you in a minute," I assured him. "No reason you have to suffer."

Quil just shook his head, looking bemused.

"Stubborn werewolf," I muttered, too low for anyone but him to hear. He chuckled despite himself.

I quickly dashed into the store and inhaled deeply, letting the scent of the leather wash over me. I sighed, and then turned to join Quil again.

Quil just shook his head at me. "I just don't get it."

* * *

A/N: -cough- I do that _all_ the time.

Side note: either this or the 21st should probably be Father's Day. Unfortunately, there aren't any prompts for Father's Day _or_ Mother's Day, which is why they're conspicuously absent. Which reminds me, I need to buy my mother a present… anyway. It works in my favor, though, since Claire doesn't see her parents that often, anyway. :-P

* * *

June 15- Claire  
Prompt: 280. Rollercoaster

I made a face. "No way."

Quil sighed. "Claire, it's a _fair_. You can't just go on the Ferris wheel and then go home."

I pouted at him. "But I thought you _liked _the Ferris wheel. Especially when we stopped at the top." I batted my eyelashes at him.

Quil burst out laughing and pulled me closer to his side, kissing the top of my head. "I _do_ like the Ferris wheel," he assured me. "I just think you need to branch out a little more." He prodded me toward the line in front of us. "Come on, just one ride on the roller coaster?"

I shook my head. "Nothing doing."

* * *

A/N: To make up for not having a Mother's Day prompt, I all but channeled my mother for Claire's responses. :-P

* * *

June 16- Quil  
Prompt: 169. Cheating

"Quil, you _cannot_ move like that," Claire informed me. She reached over and moved my checker piece back where it had been before.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Just because you can suddenly beat me at this game you think you're the expert, huh?"

Claire rolled here eyes. "Just play by the rules."

* * *

June 17- Claire  
Prompt: 298. Strawberries

I was dead. That was the only explanation, really. I had died and gone to heaven. I didn't even care. If this was what heaven was like, who would want to live, anyway?

I leaned back in the grass, groaning. I had red juice all over my face, I was sure. I still didn't care. They were _so good._ I closed my eyes in ecstasy.

I heard Quil chuckle from somewhere above me. "I take it they were good?"

"You have no idea."

I cracked open an eye to see Quil turning over the little box that had held the strawberries. "You're right, I don't."

* * *

A/N: June 17th is my birthday. :-P I expect lots of gifts, of course, by the way. Hehe, but yeah, if you couldn't tell, I'm awfully fond of strawberries. This, unfortunately, is the last of fruit prompts. :-( I still need to do 048. Chocolate, though, so it's all good.

* * *

June 18- Claire  
Prompt: 033. Moonlight

"_Memory, all alone in the moonlight…"_

I froze in the doorway. "_What_ are they watching?" I asked, mildly horrified as I watched Quil go to join his brothers in the living room.

Emily just shook her head and led me toward the kitchen where the saner people—i.e. the women at the moment—were currently hiding. "_Cats,_" she informed me, looking somewhere between amused and mildly disgusted.

"A bunch of _dogs,_" I said slowly, "are watching _Cats?_"

Leah piped up from her spot at the table. "Trust me, it's a guy thing." She paused, looking at Rick, her husband who looked rather out of place amongst the hulking werewolves in the living room—not the least because he looked horrified at what he was being subjected to—and smiled. "Well, maybe a guy werewolf thing."

I shook my head. "They're never allowed to complain about what I watch ever again."

* * *

A/N: That was quite possibly the most disturbing thing I've ever written in my life. And I've written graphic horror stories, mind you.

* * *

June 19- Claire  
Prompt: 150. Demons

"Not that way," Jacob insisted suddenly, grabbing my arm.

I turned to stare at him, unused to Jacob initiating physical contact. "What's wrong with over there?" I asked, motioning toward the driftwood Jake seemed intent on keeping me away from. "There's probably stuff we can use for the bonfire that way."

Jake shook his head resolutely, steering me in the opposite direction. I reluctantly complied. I was just happy the others were letting me wander off alone with Jacob at all, even if it was just to collect wood for the bonfire we were having on First Beach that night. It seemed like weeks since I'd had a private conversation with him, since the rest of the pack were acting so jumpy around him.

Not that Jake was much in the mood for talking. "Not that way" was the first thing he'd said to me in ten minutes, and he fell silent again as soon as he was sure I wasn't going to go wandering back toward the driftwood bench I'd seen in the distance.

I peered up at him, noting the familiar expression on his face. I glanced back the way we came again, though I couldn't see the bench anymore, with new found curiosity. "Your demons pop up in the strangest places, Jacob Black," I murmured.

To my surprise, Jake laughed. "You have no idea."

* * *

June 20- Claire  
Prompt: 091. Karma

I heard the howling and cursing even before I got into the house. "What happened?" I called, coming into the living room.

Quil was hopping around on one foot, clearly biting his tongue to keep from swearing in front of me. I didn't bother to tell him I'd already heard him. I just stood patiently, waiting.

Finally, once the pain had eased, I guess, Quil motioned at the chair. I swear he and that thing had more issues than Embry and his mother-in-law—and now that's saying something. "I dropped it on my foot," Quil finally muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Karma."

Quil scowled at me.

"Or at any rate, your animosity towards it is coming back to bite you in the butt—er, foot, rather." I watched him, amused. "Why do I have the feeling that thing's going to be gone the minute I leave for college?" Quil seemed to consider that. I rolled my eyes. "Don't even think about it."

* * *

June 21- Quil  
Prompt: 140. Tree

I stared up at her. "Claire," I said slowly, trying very hard not to let my irrational panic show. "Get down from there."

Claire frowned at me from her perch, comfortably wedged against the trunk of the tree on one of its highest branches. "Quil, I'm not even that high up," she whined.

It was true. The tree wasn't actually _that_ large. Still, the thought of what might happen if she fell… "Just humor me," I finally managed to choke out.

She sighed and started to climb down. I don't think I breathed again until her feet were safely planted on the ground. "I knew I should've tried it when you weren't home," she muttered.

I couldn't help it. A low growl escaped me.

Claire just rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding, Quil." She flashed me my favorite smile. "You worry about me too much."

* * *

June 22- Claire  
Prompt: 235. Mountains

I laughed when I saw where we were headed. "You don't want me to climb trees, but you'll let me climb a _mountain?_" I teased.

Quil quirked a grin at me. "A mountain's much safer," he declared.

I cocked an eyebrow at that. "A mountain's a hell of a lot bigger than a tree," I reminded him.

"Yes, but _this_, at least, I can climb _with_ you."

* * *

June 23- Quil  
Prompt: 284. Down

"Quil! Put me down!" Claire yelled, beating at my back.

I ignored her, only really paying attention to where I was headed.

"Quil Ateara, put me down this instant!"

Just to goad her a little bit, I started whistling.

"QUIL!"

"Fine, fine," I relented. I opened the passenger door of my truck and set her inside. "Jeez. I've never met anyone so hell-bent on not going to the dentist."

* * *

June 24- Claire  
Prompt: 099. Feel

Jacob glanced up at me. "I see you managed to survive."

"Shut up," I muttered, taking a seat on a stool next to his work bench. "I can't be the only one who hates going to the dentist."

Jake shrugged. "Probably not." He wiped his greasy hands on a rag and leaned against the Rabbit, watching me. "So, what calls for this midnight rendezvous?"

I looked around the garage, raising my eyebrows. "Rendezvous?"

"You know what I mean."

I sighed. "I've been sent to wheedle out information."

Jake coughed out a laugh. "Does no one ask questions themselves anymore?" He shook his head.

"I don't see why they have to send me anyway," I complained. "It's not like they couldn't easily get it from you. Unless you've found a non-Beatles related way to block your thoughts," I added.

Jacob made a non-committal sound.

I waited. "So?"

"So what?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, you don't have to tell _me_ whatever's going on—I know how much you hate doing that." It was Jake's turn to roll his eyes. "But could you _please_ tell Quil or Embry or someone? So they can get off my case?"

Jacob laughed. "I'll see what I can do, Claire."

"Thanks." I hopped off the stool. "They're starting to drive me crazy. I'd better get back now, anyway. I wouldn't put it past Quil to come looking for me if I'm out too long, even if he does know where I am."

* * *

A/N: Don't ask me what relevance the prompt has to the actual drabble. I don't know. Well, I have a vague idea that takes too long to explain.

* * *

June 25- Quil  
Prompt: 365. High

"Have you ever been high?"

I nearly choked on the coffee I was drinking. "What kind of question is _that?"_

Claire shrugged, considering her own mug intently. "I don't know. I was just wondering what sort of effect that would have on a werewolf." She shrugged.

I snorted. "Probably the same effect it has on anyone else, I'd think."

"Yeah, but you guys can phase when you lose control of your emotions," Claire pointed out, looking up at me. "Think about it. We'd have high werewolves phasing all over the place."

I shook my head. I don't know how she thought up these things sometimes. "I think we'd be feeling too mellow to lose control of anything."

She shrugged again. "I guess. Still. I was wondering."

* * *

June 26- Claire  
Prompt: 258. Pieces

"Where's the last piece?" I asked, lifting up the box top and searching under and around it. "We only need one more piece and then the puzzle's done."

Quil and I searched the living room, and then the closet where we kept the games. Then the living room again. We ended up searching the entire house twice for one, small, measly puzzle piece.

We came back to the puzzle finally and stared down at it. "We can at least tell what it is," Quil offered.

I shook my head. "That's not the point!" I moaned. "We spent all that time working on the stupid thing, only to have it ruined by one piece!"

* * *

A/N: The fear of this happening is the real reason behind my desire to never work on a puzzle.

* * *

June 27- Quil  
Prompt: 087. Rain

Claire appeared in my doorway, scowling. "It's raining again," she announced.

I glanced out the window. "It's only supposed to rain for a little while," I told her. "It's supposed to let up in an hour or two."

Claire still scowled. "I wanted to go running."

I kept looking out the window in an effort to hide my smile. "You can still go out. You'll just have to put on more clothes this time."

I saw Claire roll her eyes in the reflection.

* * *

June 28- Claire  
Prompt: 316. Dog

I wrinkled my nose. "Gross."

Quil shook out his wet hair and looked down at me. "What's gross?"

I pinched my nose to add to the dramatic effect. "You smell like wet dog."

Quil rolled his eyes, making to hit me with the towel he'd been using to dry his hair with. "Get used to it."

* * *

June 29- Claire  
Prompt: 136. Luxury

I leaned back in bed, sighing deeply. It felt heavenly, being able to lie in bed on a Monday morning, without having to worry about going anywhere.

It's the part I love about summer. You can lay around as much as you want for three whole months. It's one of those luxuries that I could never get tired of.

Well, that is until I remember abruptly that I promised Seth I'd baby-sit. Somehow, having a four year old pounce on you at seven in the morning ruins the effect.

* * *

June 30- Quil  
Prompt: 262. Time

It's kind of funny, thinking about time. For fifteen years, it's felt like time has been on my side. I could enjoy things as slowly as I wanted to—we had all the time in the world.

Arguably, we _still_ had all the time in the world. I certainly wasn't going anywhere any time soon, at least.

But it wasn't. Not really. The end of August was coming faster and faster. Claire wasn't even gone yet and it was obvious that things were already changing.

The worst part of it is, I didn't know if I _should_ let things change. How could you really know if things were going to change for the better until after the fact, anyway?

* * *

A/N: -watches morosely as my reviewers die of shock- Yeah, I know. I wrote June in one day. Kind of explains why it's so much shorter than the others. XD Only a little over fourteen pages. At any rate, we're officially past the half-way point. I don't know about you, but I'm excited. :-P We're finally getting close to the part I've been anxious for.

I was going to write a longer author's note, but I've written 37 drabbles in the past twenty four hours. I'm tired, and I still need to edit this before I post, and that always takes me ages.


	7. July 1 thru 16

**July**

July 1- Quil  
Prompt: 077. Heart

"Am I _what?"_ Jacob gaped at us. "What kind of question is that?"

Sam's expression was carefully blank. Under other circumstances, he wouldn't have even been here. If it had been anyone else, he would have just let us figure it out ourselves. But for this, he couldn't just leave us alone. "It's a pretty valid question," he answered, "considering the circumstances."

His jaw clenched. "No," he finally responded. "I don't." He shot me a look. "You of all people should know better."

I grimaced. I really couldn't argue with that—he was right.

When Sam finally left us, Jake turned to stare at me. "_Claire,_ Quil? Are you out of your mind?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'm sorry. But we had to ask. You can't deny that you've been acting weird lately."

"I guess," he conceded, shaking his head. "Still…" Jacob sent me a dubious look. "You have to admit, though. You pretty much brought this on yourself."

I had to laugh at that. "True. Who else would have thought that putting the two broken souls together would do so much good?"

Jake rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched. "I'm not sure how much help I've been. Helping out Billy hasn't done Claire _that _much good…" he shrugged, grinning now. "Except to finally teach her some patience, maybe."

I smiled. "I was actually referring to the romantic advice." I shook my head. "No one else has been nearly as good at cheering you up." Jake grimaced. "Anyway," I added, "you know, I wouldn't have stopped her from coming over here, even if you did."

"I know," Jacob muttered, looking away from me, toward the other side of the garage. I think I have a fairly good idea of what he was looking at. "You trust Claire." His smile was grim. "It's my track record you don't trust."

* * *

July 2- Claire  
Prompt: 263. Complete

"Please tell me you're joking," Quil groaned.

"Come on, our living room has looked _exactly_ the same for _years._" I shook my head. "You've been doing so well with the new chair—" Quil shot me a look—"well, compared to how you were doing with it when we bought it, anyway. Close enough." I placed my hands on the coffee table. "This would look _perfect_."

"Claire, we already _have_ a coffee table."

"Yes, but it doesn't _match._"

Quil grumbled, "It matched perfectly before we bought that _thing."_

"It's a chair, Quil. Most living room's have them, you know."

* * *

July 3- Claire  
Prompt: 302. Spit

Quil glanced at me, confused. "What's wrong?"

I made a face at him. "Quil that was _gross._"

"What?"

"You _spit._"

Quil rolled his eyes. "Claire, _you_ spit. All the time."

"Yeah. In the _sink._ When I brush my _teeth."_ I grimaced at the spot of the sidewalk. "That's just sick."

* * *

July 4- Claire  
Prompt: 010. Fireworks

I leaned back against Quil's chest as he settled the blanket over my lap. "When are they supposed to start the fireworks?" I asked, shifting around to find a more comfortable spot on the truck bed.

"A few more minutes," Quil informed me. I felt him shift slightly. "Don't look to your left."

"Why—Oh! Embry! Jen! Get a room!"

There were definite downsides to viewing fireworks with the rest of the pack.

Jacob, perched on the hood of the Rabbit on the other side of Quil's truck, snorted. "You think _they're_ bad…"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Shut up, Jake."

--

I have no idea when he did it. He must have snuck off to make the call when we all thought he was headed for the port-a-potties. At any rate, when Quil and I got home from the fireworks and I checked my cell phone, I found the following voicemail from Jacob:

"Come by the garage tomorrow morning, around nine. I've got something I want to show you." There was a small pause, and when he started talking again, Jacob sounded amused, "You might not want to tell Quil about it."

* * *

July 5- Claire  
Prompt: 023. Driving

"Quil is going to kill us."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "He's not going to kill us."

"You're right," I amended. "Quil's going to kill_ you."_

He chuckled. "No he isn't. You wouldn't let him."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you know that?"

Jake smirked. "Because I'm the only one who can teach you to ride one of these." He patted the handlebars on the motorcycle. "And don't tell me you don't want to learn how to ride, you've spent years bugging me to take you on it."

I eyed the bike warily. I _did_ want to ride, but… "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Of course it is," Jacob answered, looking perplexed.

"Then why are you having me ride your other bike? What's wrong with yours?"

Jacob snorted. "_My_ motorcycle's actually worth money. If you crash this one, all I'll lose on it is some time and labor—"

"—and a fortune in polish," I interjected.

He ignored me. "And anyway, do you really think I'd let something happen to you?"

I didn't even have to think about that one. "No."

Jake smiled. He held out the helmet to me—the same one he'd made me wear the time he picked me up from school—and motioned toward the bike. "Let's have at it, then."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this next drabble is kind of unusual, just in that it's Claire reflecting on the rest of the summer and what happens afterward. Therefore, it's not so much about what happened _on_ July 6, but more about… all the things that couldn't have possibly been foreseen in that moment in time.

* * *

July 6- Claire  
Prompt: 290. Beautiful

Looking back on it, that morning after my first motorcycle-riding lesson with Jake should have seemed like the start of an entirely new chapter in my life. Because it _was_, it was the start, and end, of so many things.

I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Either way, even in spite of its bittersweet ending, it was going to be a beautiful summer.

* * *

July 7- Quil  
Prompt: 046. Laughter

I loved the sound of her laugh. Of course, there wasn't anything I didn't love about Claire—even the things that drove me crazy were irresistible to me—but her laugh… it tied me up in knots and made me giddy all at once. It made me want to hear it again and again.

I at least attempted to look stern. Not that she was fooled for a minute. "Are you _laughing_ at me?"

Claire covered her mouth, trying unsuccessfully to stifle her giggles. "No, definitely not."

I looked down at my outfit. "I thought you'd like it. You've been trying to get me to be more fashion forward, haven't you?"

She snorted. "Yeah, but I was thinking you'd pick something that was in style in the past twenty years."

I shrugged, moving back toward my room to change. "Ah, well. I guess I'll have to return this to Paul's closet then."

I was rewarded by another burst of beautiful laughter.

* * *

July 8- Claire  
Prompt: 095. Touch

"Jake? Can I ask you something?" I was sitting on the stool in Jacob's garage after another motorcycle lesson—enjoying the breeze from the fan I made him put in there. It had been abnormally hot lately, not that it bothered Jake any—watching Jacob while he worked.

"'Course," Jacob answered from somewhere under Embry's car—he was changing the oil, I think. It was oddly useful having a friend who was a mechanic.

I shifted slightly on the stool. Well, I might as well get on with it. "Why do you always freak out every time I touch you?"

There was a pause. Then Jake slid out from under the car. "I never freak out."

I shook my head. "Yes, you do," I insisted. "Every time. And I know it's just me, because I've seen you hug Emily, and you never freak out then."

Jacob sat up, and shook his head at me. "I somehow doubt Quil would like it much if I touched you anymore than I do."

I rolled my eyes. "Forget about Quil for a minute and answer my question."

Jake let out a long sigh. "Fine." He eyed me for a minute. "You remember last spring, when you… er… came home?"

I felt my cheeks heat up. He meant when I'd come home from the hospital, of course. "Yes."

He was silent for a minute. "When you first started coming around, helping out with Billy and spending time in here—" He waved his hand at the garage in general—"you were so… fragile looking. I thought you'd break in half at any moment."

I blinked. It was… unusually _sweet._ Jacob, seeming to have just realized what he said, was turning red. "Right, well, umm… I don't think you have to worry about that much anymore."

"Right." Jake slid back under the car.

Considering how rarely I actually got a straight answer out of Jake, the few times I did made me wonder how much I really wanted to hear the answers he didn't give me.

* * *

July 9- Quil  
Prompt: 110. Swim

Claire appeared in my doorway, a towel thrown over her shoulder. "I can't believe it," she said, looking exasperated. "You'll go cliff diving with the pack, but I can't convince you to come with me to the beach?"

I shot her a look. "Claire, I told you. Sam wants run extra patrols today."

Claire sighed. "I know. Why does Sam have to ruin all of my fun?"

I smiled. I'd heard this same complaint a thousand times. "Maybe Jake will go with you. He needs to get out more, anyway." I'd been trying to more understanding about Jacob and Claire. I had to trust my friend. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that, anyway.

Well, not on purpose.

Claire gave me an odd look. "Jacob?" She blinked. "He doesn't have to run patrols?"

"Er… no, he doesn't." I cleared my throat, feeling the familiar tightening in my chest that I always got when I was keeping something from Claire. I turned away, pretending to look at something across the room. "Have fun."

* * *

July 10- Claire  
Prompt: 074. Hormones

"I think I've finally figured it out," I announced.

Quil looked up. "What have you figured out?"

"I've figured out why Brady and Collin are the only werewolves to not imprint yet."

Quil's brow furrowed in confusion. "But Paul hasn't imprinted either."

"True, but it's Paul. He probably hasn't imprinted to save the poor girl the trouble of turning him down."

Quil shrugged. "Probably. Go on."

"Anyway. Considering how young they were when they first phased, they're probably missing some important part."

"What part?"

"Sex hormones," I answered, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

Quil sputtered. "_What?"_

I shrugged. "You never know. They were only, what? Barely thirteen? They probably hadn't even thought about _kissing _a girl yet."

Quil chuckled. "You don't know very much about teenage boys, do you?"

"A fact you should probably be grateful for."

* * *

July 11- Claire  
Prompt: 331. Sugar

"Embry, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to make cookies."

"In my kitchen?"

"Jen kicked me out of ours."

"Gee," I muttered, "I wonder why."

Embry ignored me. "She said she can't stand my cooking anymore."

"Embry, _no one_ can stand your cooking. Jen only pretended to before because she loves you."

"And now?"

"Well, now she's got a baby to think about. No mother-to-be worth her salt would subject her unborn child to that sort of thing if she could help it." I sighed. Embry was looking truly pathetic. I had to give him something. "What didn't she like about your cookies?"

"She said they weren't sweet enough."

"Hmm… Did you forget to add the sugar again?"

"Of course I didn't—" Embry paused. Then, "Damn!"

* * *

July 12- Claire  
Prompt: 143. Bench

Jacob was waiting for me, leaning against the door of the garage when I crossed the grass behind Billy's house for our usual morning lesson.

"Take a walk with me," he said, straightening up as I approached.

I blinked. "Sure."

We cut through the house, passing Billy on our way. He didn't seem too surprised to see us. He just nodded at us. "Hey Jake, Claire."

"Hi, Billy," I called back, following Jacob out the front door.

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked Jake once we were out on the street.

"The beach," was all he'd say. We walked the rest of the way to First Beach in silence.

To my surprise, we ended up at the driftwood bench that Jake had been avoiding when we were at the beach last month. I shot a look at him, but he didn't seem to notice. He just sat down. After a minute, I joined him, not sure what else I was supposed to do.

"Umm…" I said after we were there for a few minutes. "Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"What are we doing?"

He closed his eyes. "Remember what you said before? About my demons popping up in weird places?" I nodded. "Well, I was thinking I'd face some of them."

I blinked, not sure how to respond to that. "Oh?"

Jacob nodded. "I thought… that it might be a good idea to try and replace the bad memories with more pleasant ones."

"Oh," I said again. I glanced around. "That's why you brought me here? So you'd have something else to associate this place with other than… whatever you associate it with now?"

"Exactly."

We didn't talk much for the rest of the time we were out there. When we finally got up to head back, Jake asked if I wouldn't mind coming out here with him again.

"Do you really think it's going to help?"

Jake didn't look at me right away. He scanned the beach around us, looking serious. Then, he looked down at me and offered a small smile. "Yeah, I think so." He shrugged. "At any rate, it couldn't hurt any more than anything else has."

* * *

July 13- Quil  
Prompt: 295. Scream

I rushed into Claire's room. "What's the matter?" I searched the room frantically, trying to find whatever it was that had made Claire scream.

Claire pointed to the wall behind her bed. I moved closer, trying to see better. My brow furrowed with confusion. "Claire, what—"

"The _spider,_" Claire told me, sounding half-disgusted, half-annoyed—probably at my inability to read her mind.

I finally saw what she'd been pointing at. I rolled my eyes. "Claire, it's _tiny._" She glared at me. I sighed. "Sorry. Where are the tissues?"

Claire blinked at me. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't think you'd appreciate spider guts all over your wall…"

"I don't want you to _kill _it." Claire huffed, as though I were being completely dense. "I just wanted you to get it _out._"

I really do have to wonder sometimes if I didn't imprint on a crazy woman.

* * *

July 14- Claire  
Prompt: 021. Hospital

"Ow, ow, _ow!"_

"Claire, she hasn't even _touched_ you yet," Jacob told me.

I turned to glower at him, though it wasn't too easy when he was holding me still so the nurse could stick a needle in me. "That doesn't mean it doesn't still _hurt._"

Jacob let out a frustrated sigh, which, since my head was currently situated right under his chin, caused most of the hair on the top of my head to fly everywhere.

I gritted my teeth, both from annoyance and the pain shooting from my leg—and various other bruised parts of my body. "Jake, if you don't want to be here, you don't have to stay."

Jacob snorted. "Right. Quil's going to kill me enough for getting you hurt without me abandoning you."

I rolled my eyes. "You wouldn't be _abandoning_ me. I'm sure I could get someone to come pick me up. Embry or someone."

"I don't think Embry's quite as qualified to keep this sort of thing from Quil," Jake pointed out.

I was about to ask what he meant by _that_ when I felt a new pain in my leg. I sucked in a breath.

"Thanks," the nurse said to Jacob.

"No problem."

I scowled at them both. "That wasn't nice," I muttered.

Jake chuckled. "Hey, it got you to stop thinking so much, didn't it?"

"Shut up, Jacob."

"Sure, sure."

The nurse left us alone for a few minutes while my leg numbed up, and, since Jake had lapsed into silence anyway, I took the time to think.

Much as I was giving him a hard time, and as much as this trip to the emergency was his fault anyway, I had to hand it to him. For someone who'd just a few days ago admitted to being pretty much terrified to touch me, he was handling all this pretty well. He'd only flinched once.

It was just my luck, anyway. I would hit a tree. If I hadn't been too busy trying to get my breath back after getting it knocked out of me, I would've probably pointed out the stupidity of it all. As it was, I was just recovering—or anyway, shock was wearing off so I could feel everything _else_ I'd managed to do to myself—when Jacob turned up, looking worried and scared and a million other things I didn't have time to register. He didn't say anything, just picked me up, carefully, of course, and ran me back to his car. He wrapped me up in blankets he had stashed in the trunk and then headed for the emergency room. All without saying much. Well, at least till we got there and I started freaking out about getting stitches to close the nice big gash I'd gotten on my calf.

"Jake?"

"What?"

I bit my lip. A hundred different things were swimming around in my head, so I finally settled for what seemed like the safest option. "Do you think I completely totaled the bike?"

Jacob snorted. "Claire, my motorcycle's the least of my worries right now. You're more important than that old thing anyway."

I huffed. "Jake, cut the crap. I don't need a second overprotective… man… in my life. I've got Quil for this stuff."

Jake sighed. "It's fine. Nothing I can't easily fix. Don't worry about it."

I was about to answer, but just then the nurse came back in to stitch me up.

It wasn't till later, when Jacob and I were starting to head home, that I finally got up the courage to ask, "Hey, Jake? Are you going to tell Quil?"

He didn't answer for a minute. Finally, he grimaced. "I don't know if I can keep this one a secret, Claire. Quil can probably forgive me for teaching you to ride a motorcycle behind his back… well, eventually, anyway… but I don't think he's going to be happy with me for _this_, whether I tell him right away or not."

I let out a sigh. "I guess." I stared out the window for a few minutes, watching the trees pass by. "Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could not take me home yet? Maybe… wait till tomorrow to confront Quil?"

"Do you really think that's the best idea?"

I didn't answer. The truth is, it probably was a terrible idea—I was just asking for a confrontation. Or at any rate, just asking for Jacob to get into huge amounts of trouble—but somehow a fight didn't seem like the best way to end an already painful morning.

Jacob finally sighed. "Fine. But at least call him so he doesn't break down my door looking for you, okay?"

* * *

July 15- Claire  
Prompt: 304. Funeral

It was kind of a pity that the next place I'd see Jake would probably be his funeral.

At least, that was probably my best bet, since it pretty much looked like Quil was going to murder him.

The worst part was Quil didn't even know _what_ he was going to kill Jacob for. All he knew—all I'd had a chance to explain—was that I'd come in that morning—having spent the night at Jake's (he insisted on taking the couch)—covered in bruises and one bloody bandage on my leg, which I'd ineffectually tried to cover up before he saw.

He started trembling violently. I don't think I've ever seen him so close to phasing before, not even when he'd realized Matt had threatened me at the house _twice._ Before I could try to explain anything though—not that it probably would have helped—he turned and rushed out the back door.

He still hadn't come back.

* * *

July 16- Claire  
Prompt: 125. Night

It was like déjà vu. I was curled up next to Quil's window, just like old times. Except this time I wasn't waiting for Quil come home after his patrol. I was waiting for him to come _home._

Seth had stopped by earlier—Seth, the eternal peace-keeper—to tell me that Quil was out in his wolf form, trying to calm down enough to think straight.

I hadn't seen Jake. Well, I'd _seen _him. I saw him in his garage when I was at Billy's. I just hadn't _spoken_ to him yet. Not because I was angry at him or anything. It just… seemed a little safer to stay away. Safer for Jacob, I mean.

Because, much as I couldn't quite wrap my brain around it, according to Seth, Quil was _jealous_. Not just angry. Jealous. Which was absolutely ridiculous.

I would have told him this, of course. If he'd talk to me.

So all I could do was sit here, watching the forest, waiting for Quil to come home. I had a feeling I was going to be there all night.

* * *

A/N: …And that's all y'all are getting for now. XD Sorry this chapter's taking so long, folks. I've had serious writer's block lately, plus life's kind of been kicking me in the butt.

So, y'all will get the second half of July ASAP, I promise. It is kind of fun to leave y'all hanging, though. It's not like I have much room for cliffhangers with this story, ya know. So, I apologize profusely for the lateness, but worry not! More is still coming!


	8. AN

A/N: All right. I know I'm accumulating quite the annoying track record.

This is about how my last year has gone:

-Last January, my uncle (my mom's brother) was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He died in June.

-Between the trip to the hospital, the wake, the funeral, the general trying to make sense of the world all over again, there wasn't a whole lot of time for writing.

-In August, one of my grandmas spent two days in the hospital. She's all right, but still. It was a stressful summer.

-Around Thanksgiving, my other grandma suffered a spinal fracture, and now she's living with my mom, which made home stuff even more stressful. She also had a couple seizures a couple of weeks ago.

-Last semester was one of my most emotionally challenging.

All this, needless to say, has conspired against the continuing, let alone finishing, of "A Year with Quil and Claire." For the time being. "Hiatus" is the operative word here. Attempting to write 365 separate-but-not entities rolled all into one is not exactly the task to take on when the best you can really handle is one. Especially when it all needs to flow more or less to some over arching conclusion. Which was to be open-ended at any rate. Well, partially open-ended. Nevermind. It'll make more sense when I get there.

At any rate, this is my brief explanation of the much longer reasoning as to why this story's now, officially, on hiatus. I'm coming back to it. I might just pursue other projects, preferably ones that are easier on my brain.


End file.
